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The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 


Twelve  hundred  copies  of  ^Tije  Colonial 
^tdjttertureof  Salem,  of  which  eleven  hundred 
and  seventy  are  for  sale,  have  been  printed 
from  type  and  the  type  distributed. 

This  copy  is  Number--l!i_c_U- 


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Plate  I.  —  Andrew-SafFord  Entrance  Porch,  13  Washington  Square. 

Erected  181 8. 


The  Colonial 
Architecture  of  Salem 

By 
Frank  Cousins  and  Phil  M.  Riley 

Illustrated 


\\^CiHAU 


g^^^S 


Boston 

Little^  Brown,  and  Company 

IQIQ 


Copyright,  zgig. 
By  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 


All  rights  reserved 


Art 
Library 

(YA 

755 

Foreword 

MUCH  has  been  written  about  the  fine  old 
architecture  of  Salem.  The  most  noted 
residences  and  other  edifices  have  often  provided 
subject  material  for  magazine  articles  and  chapters 
in  volumes  devoted  to  historic  homes  and  Colonial 
furnishings;  writers  have  described  their  rambles 
about  the  quaint  and  handsome  streets ;  anti- 
quaries have  expatiated  on  the  beautiful  wood-carv- 
ing, ironwork,  brasses,  furniture  and  wall  papers ; 
architects  have  exalted  the  exquisite  detail  and  fine 
proportions  of  the  doorways  and  mantels,  and  hailed 
Salem  as  among  the  greatest  storehouses  of  Ameri- 
can antiquities ;  and  the  publications  of  the  Essex 
Institute  and  other  historical  and  genealogical 
societies  have  compiled  and  presented  much  inter- 
esting data  regarding  important  persons,  places 
and  things.  This  miscellany  of  subjects  has  been 
treated  at  random,  however,  and  is  widely  scattered 
through  so  many  forms  of  literature  as  to  constitute  a 
voluminous  and  ill-assorted  library  in  itself. 

But  Salem  architecture  is  such  an  important  and 
many-sided  subject  as  to  deserve  more  ambitious 

[v] 


A 


Foreword 

and  unified  treatment,  yet  strangely  enough  no 
attempt  has  ever  been  made  to  gather  and  present 
in  a  single  volume  in  chronological  sequence  and 
logical  classification,  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
home-builder  and  the  architect,  the  whole  array 
of  Colonial  architecture  in  Salem  from  its  settle- 
ment in  1626  to  the  cessation  of  Colonial  develop- 
ment in  18 1 8,  exactly  a  century  ago,  and  the  advent 
of  Greek  revival  influence  shortly  afterward. 

The  hearty  welcome  and  extensive  sale  accorded 
"The  Wood-Carver  of  Salem"  in  1916,  devoted 
as  it  was  to  the  work  of  only  one  man  in  a  single 
period  between  the  years  1782  and  181 1,  has  led 
the  authors  to  undertake  this  larger  task  and  to 
present  the  results  of  their  collaboration  in  a  com- 
panion volume.  It  is  believed  that  the  wider  scope 
and  broader  appeal  of  the  present  book  will  meet 
a  still  greater  demand  that  has  long  existed,  for 
its  predecessor  merely  scratched  the  surface  of 
Salem  building  lore. 

In  terms  of  the  so-called  Colonial  style,  our 
national  building  heritage,  Salem  is  the  architec- 
tural center  of  New  England,  and  to  New  Eng- 
land and  Virginia  we  instinctively  accord  the  high- 
est places  in  our  regard  as  the  principal  fountains 
of  American  culture  and  development.  But  the 
architecture  of  Virginia  implies  the  great  estate; 
it  is  neither  for  the  town  nor  the  person  of  moderate 
means.    Thus  in  Salem  oftener  than  elsewhere  do 

[vi] 


Foreword 

leading  architects  and  intelligent  home-builders  find 
inspiration  for  modern  adaptation.  Indeed,  this 
fascinating  city  has  become  a  synonym  for  the  best 
in  Colonial  architecture,  especially  doorways  and 
chimney  pieces.  Variety  and  the  opportunity  for 
comparison  render  Salem  architecture  unique  and 
especially  valuable  in  that  it  embraces  four  dissimilar 
types  developed  in  as  many  distinct  periods. 

First  came  the  primitive,  small,  gable-roof  cabin 
or  cottage,  and  almost  simultaneously  the  larger 
peaked-roof  or  many-gabled  houses  patterned  after 
English  Elizabethan  prototypes.  Soon,  however, 
the  growing  custom  of  enlarging  gable-roof  houses 
with  a  lean-to  addition  along  one  side  produced 
a  new  and  distinctive  mass  and  picturesque  contour 
of  roof  line  which  was  prevalent  about  the  time  of 
the  witchcraft  delusion  of  1692.  Early  in  the 
eighteenth  century  came  the  gambrel-roof  type, 
adapted  from  the  French  of  Mansard,  but  with 
characteristics,  in  most  Salem  instances  as  else- 
where throughout  New  England,  so  unlike  similar 
structures  about  New  York  and  in  the  South  as  to 
impart  decided  local  color.  Following  the  Revolu- 
tion, Salem  architecture  reached  the  pinnacle  of 
its  development  in  the  square  three-story  house. 
Until  about  18 10  most  square  houses  were  of  wood, 
but  thereafter  brick  construction  increased  and  in 
18 18,  after  which  year  the  architectural  decadence 
began   to   manifest   itself,   brick   houses   prevailed. 

[vii] 


Foreword 

The  fourth  period  therefore  consists  of  two  divisions 
so  cleariy  marked  by  the  difference  in  constructive 
materials  as  almost  to  be  designated  as  separate 
periods.  In  none  of  these  four  periods  do  Salem 
houses  aspire  to  the  manorial  splendor  of  the  South, 
but  each  house  type  frankly  interprets  the  refine- 
ment, the  domestic  spirit  and  simple  dignity  of 
the  people,  both  in  the  prosperous  period  of  brick 
construction  and  the  earlier  days  when  the  meager 
comforts  of  the  wooden  cottage  sufficed. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  first  two  periods  constitute 
the  only  truly  Colonial  houses  in  Salem,  but  the 
custom  everywhere  is  to  place  in  the  Colonial  cate- 
gory all  buildings  with  Renaissance  detail  up  to 
the  beginning  of  the  so-called  Greek  revival.  This 
is  logical  and  proper,  inasmuch  as  the  structures 
erected  immediately  preceding  and  following  the 
Revolution  represent  direct  developments  of  their 
simpler  predecessors  and  hence  are  very  closely 
related  to  them.  Such  a  broad  interpretation  of 
the  meaning  of  the  word  Colonial  seems  especially 
appropriate  with  regard  to  Salem  architecture  because 
it  did  not  attain  the  full  measure  of  its  development 
until  after  the  Revolution. 

The  word  Provincial  has  been  suggested  as  a 
more  accurate  substitute  for  Colonial,  the  argu- 
ment being  that  little  worthy  of  serious  architectural 
consideration  to-day  was  erected  in  America  before 
the  Provincial  period  in  our  history.     On  this  basis 

[  viii  ] 


Foreword 

those  splendid  houses  built  during  the  first  three  or 
four  decades  of  our  national  life  might  well  be  called 
Federal.  But  the  word  matters  far  less  than  its 
meaning,  provided  the  latter  be  well  understood. 
The  term  Colonial  has  long  since  received  the  stamp 
of  popular  approval  and  become  a  familiar  byword, 
while  the  architecture  it  designates,  very  largely 
because  of  its  very  comprehensiveness  and  varied 
local  color,  expresses  our  national  spirit  as  nearly 
as  we  have  been  able  to  give  it  expression.  Indeed, 
it  is  so  inseparably  associated  with  our  glorious 
history,  and  so  inexhaustible  in  its  possibilities  for 
modem  adaptation,  that  there  appears  to  be  no 
prospect  that  it  will  be  supplanted  as  the  American 
national  style. 

So  great  is  the  wealth  of  subject  material  in 
Salem  that  much  of  genuine  merit  has  of  necessity 
been  omitted  from  these  pages.  Exigencies  of 
space  obliged  the  choice  to  be  restricted  to  the 
best  and  most  typical  examples  in  each  period,  first 
preference  being  given  to  architectural  excellence 
and  second  to  historic  interest.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  to  tell  the  complete  story  of  Salem  archi- 
tecture ;  the  aim  has  been  rather  to  tell  the  story  of 
Colonial  architecture  in  Salem.  The  work  covers 
the  four  periods  from  1628  to  1818,  aggregating  190 
years,  and  this  explains  the  omission  of  several 
prominent  public  buildings  not  of  Colonial  char- 
acter and  erected  since  the  latter  date.     The  omission 

[ix] 


J 


Foreword 

of  a  few  well-known  Colonial  houses  in  what  is 
commonly  understood  to  be  the  Greater  Salem  of 
to-day,  such  as  the  Page  Tavern  in  Danvers,  for 
example,  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  several 
adjacent  communities,  once  parts  of  Salem,  were 
not  parts  of  that  town  at  the  time  the  houses  in 
question  were  erected,  Marblehead  being  set  oif 
in  1648,  Beverly  in  1668,  Danvers  in  1752,  while 
Peabody  was  set  oflF  from  Danvers  in  1855. 

Mr.  Cousins,  in  gathering  and  preparing  the 
illustrations,  and  Mr.  Riley,  in  writing  the  text, 
owe  much  to  the  generous  assistance  of  Mr.  John 
Robinson,  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  who  offered 
many  helpful  suggestions  and  furnished  much  of 
the  historical  data. 

Frank  Cousins  and  Phil  M.  Riley. 
April  i,  1919 


[x] 


Contents 


Foreword 

I.  The  Gable  and  Peaked-roof  House 

II.  The  Lean-to  House  .... 

III.  The  Gambrel-roof  House 

IV.  The  Square  Three-story  Wood  House 
V.  The  Square  Three-jstory  Brick  House 

VI.  Doorways  and  Porches     . 

VII.  Windows  and  Window  Frames 

VIII.  Interior  Wood  Finish 

IX.  Halls  and  Stairways 

X.  Mantels  and  Chimney  Pieces 

XI.  Public  Buildings 

XII.  Salem  Architecture  To-day 

Index  


PAGE 
V 

I 

i8 

34 

59 

85 

105 

131 

143 

167 

184 

211 

236 

259 


[:^i] 


List  of  Plates 


I.     Andrew  Safford    Entrance  Porch,   13   Washing- 
ton Square Frontispiece 


PAGE 


II.  Sarah  Prince  Osburn  House,  Danvers;  Re- 
tire Becket  House 4 

III.  Deliverance    Parkman    House.       From    an   Old 

Sketch  in  the  Essex  Institute;  Governor 
Bradstreet  Mansion.  From  a  Painting  at 
the  Essex  Institute 5 

IV.  The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables    ....        10 

V.  Parlor  of  the  House  of  the  Seven  Gables, 
showing  Buffet;  Stairway  of  the  House 
of  the  Seven  Gables II 

VI.     Philip  English  House ;  Lewis  Hunt  House  .         .        14 

VII.     The       Pickering       House;      Rebecca       Nurse 

House  •         •        15 

VIII.     Rea-Putnam-Fowler    House,     Danvers;     Maria 

Goodhue  House,  Danvers      .         .         .         .        18 

IX.     John  Ward  House 19 

X.     The     Old     Bakery;      Detail     of    Old     Bakery 

Overhang 22 

XI.     The    Narbonne    House;     Rear    of    the    Nar- 

bonne  House 23 

[  xiii  ] 


List  of  Plates 


XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 
XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 
XXIII. 
XXIV. 

XXV. 
XXVI. 


Front  Room  of  the  Narbonne  House;  Man- 
tel and  China  Closet,  Narbonne 
House 

George  Jacobs  House,  Danversport;  Judge 
Samuel  Holten  House,  Danvers 

Isaac  Goodale  House,  Peabody;     John  Wal 
cott  House,  Danvers 

John  Waters  House ;  Wheatland  House 

Babbidge  House ;  Jeffrey  Lang  House 

Senator  Benjamin  Goodhue  House;  Clark- 
Morgan  House 


Diman  House ;  The  Witch  House 

General     Israel     Putnam's     Birthplace, 
vers ;  Thomas  Ruck  House 


Dan 


Nathaniel  Hawthorne's  Birthplace;  Haw- 
thorne's Home  from  1828  to  1832 

Eighteenth  Century  Addition  to  the  Put- 
nam House;  the  Room  in  which 
General  Israel  Putnam  was  Born 


26 
27 

30 
31 

32 

33 
38 

39 

44 

45 


Lindall-Barnard-Andrews      House ;         Derby- 
Ward  House 50 


Garden    of    the    Ropes'    Memorial ;      Ropes' 
Memorial 


Richard     Derby     House;       Gambrel     Gable 
and  Chimneys,  Richard  Derby  House 


51 


54 


Cabot-Endicott-Low     House;     Lindall-Gibbs- 

Osgood  House 55 


Benjamin  Pickman  Mansion  as  it  Looked 
Prior  to  1850;  "The  Lindens", 
Danvers     . 

[xiv] 


58 


List  of  Plates 


XXVII.     Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse    Estate;    The 
Stearns  House 

XXVIII.  Hosmer-Townsend-Waters  House  and 
Boardman  House;  Simon  Forrester 
House 


XXIX.     Captain    Edward    Allen    House;    Briggs- 
Whipple  House  ... 

XXX.     Aaron       Waite       House;      George       M 
Whipple  House 

XXXI.     Timothy     Orne     House;      Peabody-Ran- 
toul  House  .... 

XXXII.     Cook-Oliver        House;         Crowninshield 
Devereux-Waters  House 

XXXIII.  Birthplace  of  General  Frederick  W 
Lander;  Home  of  Samuel  Mcln- 
tire 


59 

62 
63 
66 

67 
70 

71 


XXXIV.  The  House  where  Hawthorne  achieved 
Fame,  14  Mall  Street;  Paved 
Courtyard  between  Pierce-Johon- 
not-Nichols  House  and  Barn        .         .        76 

XXXV.  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  House;  One- 
story  Wingj  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  House 77 

XXXVI.  The  "Grimshawe"  House;  Haw- 
thorne's Residence  in  1846  and 
1847  82 

XXXVII.     Gardner-White-Pingree      House;      Dodge- 

Shreve  House 83 

XXXVIII.    The  "Studio";        ,   Mansfield-Bolles 

House 86 

XXXIX.     Peabody-Silsbee     House;       Hodges-Peele- 

West  House  .        .        .        .        •        87 

[xv] 


List  of  Plates 

PAGE 

XL.     Baldwin-Lyman     House;      Pickman-Shreve- 

Little  House 90 

XLL    Andrew-Safford       House;        Loring-Emmer- 

ton  House 91 

XLIL     Mack     and     Stone    Houses;       Silsbee-Mott 

House 96 

XLHL     Hoffman-Simpson      House;       AUen-Osgood- 

Huntington  Houses  ....       97 

XLIV.  Chestnut  Street  Showing  Philip  Little 
Doorway;  Gardner  and  Thompson 
Houses loo 

XLV.     Weir    House    Doorway;    Thomas    Poynton 

Doorway lOl 

XLVL    Meek    House    Doorway;     Pickman-Shreve- 

Little  Side  Entrance        ....      104 

XLVH.  Inclosed  Porch  at  23  Summer  Street; 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  Doorway  and 
Gateposts 105 

XLVHL     Boardman    House    Inclosed    Porch;    Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  Inclosed  Porch     .         .      108 

XLIX.     Stearns    House    Doorway;    Whipple    House 

Inclosed  Porch 109 

L.     Entrance    Porch,   Home  for  Aged  Women; 

Cook-Oliver  Entrance  Porch    .         .         .      112 

LI.     Entrance    Porch    of     the    Kimball    House; 

Peabody-Silsbee  Entrance  Porch     .         .113 

LII.     Salem    Club    Entrance   Porch;    Veranda   of 

the  Saltonstall-Tuckerman  House    .         .116 

LIII.  Ropes'  Memorial  Doorway  and  Gateposts ; 
Double  Entrance  Porch,  38  and  40 
Chestnut  Street 117 

[xvi  ] 


List  of  Plates 


LIV.     Baldwin-Lyman     Entrance     Porch;       Pick- 

man-Shreve-Little  Entrance  Porch  .      120 

LV.     Dodge-Shreve     Inclosed     Porch;      Barstow- 

West  Elliptical  Entrance  Porch       .        .121 

LVI.  Gardner-White-Pingree  Elliptical  En- 
trance Porch;  Tucker-Rice  Elliptical 
Entrance  Porch 124 

LVII.     BoUes     House     Doorway;     Abbot     House 

Doorway 125 

LVHI.  Lindall-Barnard-Andrews  Doorway  and 
Gateposts ;  Richard  Derby  Door- 
way   128 

LIX.     Nathan      C.      Osgood      Window;       Witch 

House  Window 129 

LX.  Architectural  Relics  at  the  Essex  In- 
stitute. Casement  Sash  from  Buffum 
House;  Diamond  Sash  of  Later 
Origin,  with  Bull's-eye  Lights;  Win- 
dow Head  from  the  Elias  Hasket 
Derby  Mansion       .         •         .         .        .132 

LXI.     Stephen    W.    Phillips    Window;     Narbonne 

House  Window        .        .        .        .        -133 

LXII.     Hoffman-Simpson  Window     .         .         .         .136 

LXIII.     Richard      Derby      Window;  Thompson 

House  Window 137 

LXIV.  Charles  Sanders  Window  Head;  Pickman- 
Shreve-Little  Window  Head;  Pea- 
body-Silsbee  Window  Head;  Dodge- 
Shreve  Window  Head      .         .         .         .140 

LXV.     Cook-Oliver       Window;        Pierce-Johonnot- 

Nichols  Window 14^ 

[  xvii  ] 


List  of  Plates 


LXVI. 

LXVII. 

LXVIII. 

LXIX. 

LXX. 

LXXI. 

LXXII. 

LXXIII. 
LXXIV. 

LXXV. 


A  Chamber  in  the  Cook-Oliver  House; 
Paneled  Wall,  Parlor  at  "The  Lin- 
dens ",  Danvers 142 

Doorway  in  the  Second  Floor  Hall,  An- 
drew-Safford  House;  China  Closet, 
Captain  Edward  Allen  House  .         .      143 

Paneled  Wall,  Richard  Derby  House; 
Embrasured  Windows  and  Seats  of 
the  Same  Room       .....      146 

Wainscot  and  Surbase,  Derby-Crownin- 
shield-Rogers  House;  Dado,  Sur- 
base, and  Skirting,  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  House 147 

East  Front  Chamber,  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  House;  Plaster  Cornice 
and  Frieze,  Derby-Crowninshield- 
Rogers  House 150 

West  or  Georgian  Parlor,  Pierce-Jo- 
honnot-Nichols  House ;  Embra- 

sured     Windows     and     Seats     of    the 
Same  Room      ......      151 

Mantel  and  Side  of  Room,  Putnam- 
Hanson  House;  Mantel  and  Side  of 
Room,  Pitman  House       ....      154 

Dining     Room,     Cook-Oliver     House;     Pri- 


vate Dining  Room,  Salem  Club 


ISS 


Doorway  in  the  Crowninshield-Dev- 
ereux-Waters  House;  Doorway  in 
the  Cook-Oliver  House,  Taken  from 
the  Elias  Hasket  Derby  House  .      158 


East  or  Adam  Parlor,  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  House ;  Embrasured ;  ■  Win- 
dows of  the  Same  Room  .... 

[  xviii  ] 


159 


List  of  Plates 


LXXVI. 
LXXVII. 

LXXVIII. 

LXXIX. 

LXXX. 

LXXXI. 

LXXXII. 
LXXXIII. 

LXXXIV. 

LXXXV. 

LXXXVI. 


Detail  of  Doorway,  Adam  Parlor, 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  House      . 

Georgian  Embrasured  Window-Detail ; 
Adam  Embrasured  Window  Detail, 
Showing  Shutters,  >  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  House 

Plaster  Centerpiece,  Ceiling  of  the  An- 
drew-Safford  Parlor;  Third  Floor 
Chamber,  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 

House  ...... 

Doorway  in  the  Parlor  of  the  Andrew- 
Safford  House;  Doorway  in  the 
Home  for  Aged  Women 

Stairway  in  the  Samuel  Mclntire 
House;  Stairway  in  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  Side  Hall 

Stairway  in  the  Hosmer-Townsend- 
Waters  House;  Newel  and  Balus- 
trade, Simon  Forrester  Stairway     . 


Stairway      in       the 
Allen  House 


Captain       Edward 


"Winder"  in  the  David  P.  Waters 
House;  "Winder"  in  the  Derby- 
Crowninshield-Rogers  House 

Hall  and  Stairway,  Lindall-Barnard- 
Andrews  House;  Stairway  in  the 
Cook-Oliver  House         .... 

Hall  and  Stairway,  "The  Lindens"; 
Stairway  Detail,  "The  Lin- 
dens"     


Palladian  Window, 
Nichols  House ; 
dow,  "The  Lindens' 

[  xix] 


Pierce-Johonnot- 
Palladian      Win- 


162 


163 


164 


i6s 


166 


167 


168 


169 


170 


171 


172 


List  of  Plates 


LXXXVII. 


LXXXVIII. 


LXXXIX. 


xc. 


XCI. 


XCII. 


XCIII. 


XCIV. 


xcv. 


XCVI. 


Hall  and  Stairway,  Cabot-Endicott- 
Low  House;  Stair  Ends  and 
Landing,  .  Cabot-End icott-Low 
House 173 

Hand-carved  Newel,  Rear  Hall,  "The 
Lindens";         Corkscrew  Spiral 

Newel,  Richard  Derby  House   .        .       176 

Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse  Hall  and 
Stairway;  Stairway  in  the  Bab- 
bldge  -  Crowninshield  -  Bowker 
House 177 

Stairway  in  the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
House ;  Chippendale  Balustrade, 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  House  .       178 

Inside  of  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  Front 
Door;  Inside  of  Richard  Derby 
Front  Door 179 

Elliptical  Arched  Doorway  in  the  Salem 
Club ;  Elliptical  Arches,  Hall  of  the 
Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers  House  .       182 

Hall  and  Stairway  in  the  Hoffman-Simp- 
son House ;  Hall  and  Stairway  of  the 
Salem  Club 183 

Detail  of  Chimney  Piece,  West  Parlor, 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  House ; 

Corner  Section  of  the  Same       .        .       186 

Chamber  Mantel,  "The  Lindens";  Man- 
tel in  the  Captain  Edward  Allen 
House 187 

Adam  Chimney  Piece,  East  Parlor,  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  House ;  Dining 
Room  Chimney  Piece,  "The  Lin- 
dens ",  Danvers         ....       188 

[xx] 


List  of  Plates 


XCVII.  East  Front  Chamber  Mantel,  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  House;  Corner  Section  of  the 
Same        .......      189 

XCVIII.  Corner  Section  of  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
Chimney  Piece ;  Corner  Section  of  Cook- 
Oliver  Mantel 192 

XCIX.  Fireplace  in  a  Third  Floor  Chamber,  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  House;  Mantel  in  a 
Chamber  of  the  Cook-Oliver  House         .      193 

C.  Mantel  Detail,  Hamilton  Hall ;  Chamber 
Mantel  Details,  Derby-Crowninshield- 
Rogers  House 

CI.  Mantel  in  a  Chamber  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
House;  Mantel  in  the  West  Chamber, 
Peabody-Silsbee  House    .... 

CH.     Detail  of  Mantel  in  the  Kimball  House 

CHI.  Northwest  Parlor  Mantel,  Hosmer-Town- 
send-Waters  House;  Mantel  from  the 
Old  Registry  of  Deeds  Building 

CIV.  Parlor  Mantel,  Home  for  Aged  Women; 
Front  Parlor  Mantel,  Woman's  Friend 
Society •      204 

CV.  Mantel  in  the  Crowninshield-Devereux- 
Waters  House;  Parlor  Mantel,  Lindall- 
Barnard-Andrews  House 

CVI.  Parlor  Mantel  and  Scenic  Wall  Paper,  Cook- 
Oliver  House 

CVII.  Fireplace  in  the  Crowninshield-Devereux- 
Waters  House;  Mantel  in  the  David  P. 
Waters  Reception  Room 

CVIII.     Woman's      Friend     Society;       Tucker-Rice 
House,      now      the      Father      Mathew 

Society 

[  xxi  ] 


196 

197 

200 

201 


205 


208 


209 


212 


Liist  of  Plates 


CIX.     Bertram   Home  for  Aged  Men;  Mack  In- 
dustrial School 213 

ex.     The  Assembly  Hall 216 

CXI.     Home    for   Aged    Women;    Former    Salem 

Cadet  Armory 217 

CXII.     The  Old  Courthouse  of   1785;    Interior  of 

Washington  Hall 220 

CXIII.     Hamilton   Hall;      Fireplaces,    Vaulted    and 

Groined  Ceiling,  Hamilton  Hall     .         .221 

CXIV.    The  Old  South  Church  .        .        .        .226 

CXV.     The  Market  House ;  The  Salem  Club   .         .      227 

CXVI.     Elias     Hasket     Derby     Mansion;       Salem 

Custom  House 232 

CXVII.     Old    Latin    Grammar    and    English    High 

School;  Detail  of  the  Same  .         .233 

CXVIII.     George  A.  Morrill  House;     Home  of  Mrs. 

L.  E.  Noyes 236 

CXIX.  Doorway  Detail,  George  A.  Morrill 
House;  Doorway  Detail,  T.  Irving 
Fenno  House  .....      237 

CXX.     Residence  of  Henry  M.  Bachelder;    Semi- 
detached House  of  S.  W.  Phillips  .         .      240 

CXXI.  Doorway  Detail,  Francis  A.  Seaman 
House;  Doorway  Detail,  B.  Parker 
Babbidge  House 241 

CXXII.     Residence    of    Francis   A.    Seaman;    Resi- 
dence of  B.  Parker  Babbidge  ,         .      244 

CXXIII.    George  W.  Fuller  Doorway;     Alan  Bouve 

Doorway 245 

CXXIV.     Lancelot    Gibson    House;        Residence    of 

George  L.  Hooper  ....      250 

[  xxii  ] 


List  of  Plates 


PAOB 

CXXV.  Peabody  Building;  Doorway  Detail, 
Salem  News  Office,  Peabody  Build- 
ing ..         . 251 

I 

^  CXXVI.     Salem  Masonic  Temple  ....      254 

CXXVII.     The     Salem     Athenaeum;         Salem     Police 

Station 255 


[  xxiii  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  GABLE  AND  PEAKED-ROOF  HOUSE 

IN  Salem,  as  in  most  other  early  settled  com- 
munities of  America,  some  at  least  of  the  first 
houses  were  probably  log  cabins ;  simple,  gable- 
roof  structures  a  single  story  or  at  most  a  story  and 
a  half  in  height.  According  to  tradition  the  first 
dwelling  erected  on  the  soil  of  old  Naumkeag  by 
the  "planters"  under  the  Sheffield  patent  in  1626 
was  for  their  leader,  Roger  Conant,  but  its  character 
is  not  recorded.  Little  is  definitely  known  about 
the  pioneer  architecture  of  those  days,  but  its  primi- 
tive character  rendered  it  virtually  without  interest 
to  the  architect  or  prospective  home-builder  of  the 
present  time. 

Such  rustic  makeshifts  were  of  short  duration, 
however.  When  Governor  John  Endecott  arrived 
in  1628,  as  the  representative  of  the  Dorchester 
Company,  he  brought  with  him  skilled  men  of  all 
trades,  and  the  work  of  the  builders  among  them 
continued  along  the  general  lines  of  their  previous 

[I] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

training.  It  was  inevitable  that  aggressive  men  of 
the  resolution  necessary  to  venture  the  dangers  and 
hardships  of  the  new  world  should  soon  aspire  to 
replace  former  comforts  in  the  freer  atmosphere  of 
their  new  surroundings.  Being  home-loving  British 
people  who  had  emigrated  for  no  lack  of  love  for 
their  native  land,  but  merely  to  wring  a  livelihood 
from  New  England  lands  and  waters  unmolested 
by  the  obnoxious  acts  of  the  king,  it  was  natural 
that  their  early  architecture  should  have  been 
patterned  after  that  of  the  mother  country,  for  in 
England  more  than  in  any  other  land  have  the  ideals 
of  what  a  home  and  home  life  implies  been  realized. 

And  such  was  indeed  the  case,  though  the  transla- 
tion to  wood,  the  most  plentiful  and  easily  obtain- 
able building  material,  so  altered  characteristic 
appearance  as  almost  to  conceal  the  origin  and  vir- 
tually to  create  new  house  types.  We  are  thus 
reminded  that  as  early  as  the  sixteenth  century  wood 
ceased  to  be  a  building  material  of  moderate  cost 
in  England.  The  more  pretentious  manor  houses, 
churches  and  public  buildings  were  being  erected 
of  quarried  stone ;  Flemish  brickwork  had  influenced 
the  last  phase  of  Gothic  in  England,  and  most  or- 
dinary buildings  were  still  of  half-timber  work  filled 
in  between  with  rubble  masonry  or  plaster  on  oak 
laths. 

Salem  began  its  architectural  history  during  the 
transition  period  in  England  from  Early  to  Classic 

[2l 


The   Gable  and  Peaked- Roof  House 

Renaissance,  so  that  two  influences  were  almost 
simultaneous  in  American  building.  That  one  really- 
preceded  the  other,  however,  and  was  of  short  dura- 
tion seems  to  be  proved  conclusively  by  the  scarcity 
of  examples  extant  as  compared  with  the  abundance 
of  houses  of  every  later  type.  The  first  Salem  houses 
of  note,  therefore,  were  patterned  after  the  Eliza- 
bethan and  Jacobean  types  developed  during  the 
periods  1558-1603  and  1603-1625,  when  some  of 
the  Tudor  characteristics  of  Perpendicular,  the 
last  phase  of  English  Gothic,  were  combined  with 
classic  orders  and  ornament  considerably  modified 
and  subordinately  used.  The  English  classic,  or 
so-called  Georgian,  was  adopted  a  few  years  after- 
ward, and,  as  will  appear  in  later  chapters,  took 
unto  itself  American  characteristics  no  less  distinctive 
than  those  adapted  from  earlier  sources. 

Thus  the  transplanting  of  the  rambling  Eliza- 
bethan dwelling  and  its  construction  entirely  of 
wood  gave  us  the  little  less  picturesque  many- 
gabled  houses  of  Salem  which  have  been  immor- 
talized by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne  in  "The  House  of 
the  Seven  Gables."  Many,  probably  most  of  these 
quaint  houses  were  not  originally  built  in  their  final 
condition,  but  like  their  British  prototypes  repre- 
sented the  result  of  successive  additions  to  meet 
the  needs  of  growing  families  and  other  require- 
ments. The  beginning  was  usually  a  simple  gable- 
roof  structure,  such  as  the  Robert  Prince  farmhouse 

[3] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

in  Danvers,  and  the  Becket  cottage  In  Salem  proper, 
from  which  wings  and  second-story  gables  were  thrown 
out  as  occasion  demanded. 

Aside  from  their  historic  associations  these  two 
houses  are  in  several  respects  of  unique  architectural 
interest.  Their  roofs  may  never  have  been  covered 
with  thatch,  yet  the  pitch  is  sufficiently  steep  to  have 
made  thatch  shed  water.  Although  both  houses 
were  built  during  the  period  when  thatch  was  much 
used  in  Salem,  many  contemporary  shingled  roofs 
perpetuated  the  thatch  tradition  through  equal 
steepness  of  pitch.  It  is  a  matter  of  record,  however, 
that  until  1660  most  Salem  dwellings  were  mere 
cottages  having  roofs  of  thatch,  cut  on  the  Beverly 
shore  of  the  harbor,  and  catted  wooden  chimneys 
composed  of  sticks  with  ends  laid  over  one  another 
at  right  angles  and  plastered  with  clay.  Fires  were 
the  inevitable  sequence  of  the  employment  of  such 
combustible  materials,  and  in  163 1  Governor  Dudley 
wrote  the  following  regarding  the  formal  fire  order : 

"For  the  prevention  whereof  in  our  new  towne, 
intended  this  somer  to  bee  builded,  wee  haue  ordered 
that  noe  man  there  shall  build  his  chimney  with 
wood,  nor  cover  his  house  with  thatch,  which  was 
readily  assented  vnto,  for  that  diverse  other  howses 
haue  beene  burned  since  our  arrivall  (the  fire  allwaies 
begininge  in  the  woodden  chimneys)  and  some  wig- 
wams, which  haue  taken  fire  in  the  roofs  covered 
with  thatch  or  boughs." 

[4] 


Plate  II. — Sarah   Prince   Osburn   House,  Danvers.      Erected  about 

1656  ;   Retire  Becket  House,  5  Becket  Street. 

Erected  soon  after  1655. 


Plate  III.  —  Deliverance  Parkman  House.      From  an  Old  Sketch  in 

the  Essex  Institute ;   Governor  Bradstreet  Mansion. 

From  a  Painting  at  the  Essex  Institute. 


The   Gable  and  Peaked-Roof  House 

This  scare  soon  passed,  and  on  December  20,  1636, 
the  governor's  order  was  revoked  at  the  instance  of 
the  townspeople.  However,  it  had  served  in  a  meas- 
ure to  curb  the  tendency  of  the  time  and  to  encourage 
more  substantial  building,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
use  of  thatch  continued  for  half  a  century,  especially 
for  outbuildings.  On  the  better  houses,  erected  after 
1660,  shingles  were  used  as  a  roof  covering,  and 
occasionally  tiles,  which  were  made  in  Salem  as  early 
as  1629.  Bricks  began  to  be  used  for  the  chimneys, 
and  sometimes  were  also  laid  upon  their  narrow  sides 
between  the  timbers  and  joists,  plastered  with  clay 
inside  and  out,  and  covered  externally  with  clap- 
boards, at  first  more  accurately  termed  clayboards, 
since  their  mission  was  to  protect  the  clay  from  being 
washed  away  by  heavy  rains. 

The  Danvers  farmhouse  previously  referred  to  was 
built  by  Robert  Prince  about  1656,  on  what  is  now 
Maple  Street,  about  one  mile  northwest  of  Danvers 
Square.  As  seen  at  the  left,  the  house  formerly  had 
an  overhang,  but  in  the  course  of  subsequent  repairs 
this  has  been  nearly  obliterated. 

After  Prince's  death  his  widow,  Sarah,  continued  to 
live  in  it,  and  later  married  Alexander  Osburn.  Os- 
burn  came  from  Ireland  and  was  one  of  the  so-called 
Redemptioners ;  that  is,  one  who  procured  his  pas- 
sage to  America  by  selling  his  services  for  a  stipulated 
time.  It  appears  that  Sarah  Prince  bought  Osburn's 
time  of  the  man  he  was  serving,  hired  him  to  work  on 

[5] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

her  own  farm,  and  eventually  married  him.  In 
1692,  bedridden  and  of  unbalanced  mind,  Sarah 
Prince  Osburn  was  one  of  the  three  original  victims 
of  the  witchcraft  delusion,  and  died  in  Boston  jail 
while  awaiting  trial.  The  house  remained  in  the 
possession  of  the  descendants  of  Robert  Prince  until 
the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  is  now 
the  farmhouse  attached  to  St.  John's  Normal  College, 
a  Catholic  institution. 

The  house  at  Number  11  Becket  Street  appeals 
strongly  to  the  imagination  as  having  been  for  six 
generations  the  home  of  the  Beckets,  a  family  of 
shipwrights  who  played  an  important  part  in  the  up- 
building of  Salem's  merchant  marine.  Among  the 
famous  vessels  built  by  Retire  Becket,  the  foremost 
designer  of  the  family,  and  who  occupied  the  house 
for  many  years,  were  the  merchant  ships  Active, 
Recovery,  Margaret,  Mount  Vernon,  and  the  fourth 
America,  the  latter  being  converted  into  a  privateer 
in  1812 ;  the  brigantine  Becket  and  Cleopatra's  Barge, 
Captain  George  Crownlnshield's  pleasure  yacht. 

Architecturally  this  house  interests  the  student  not 
only  because  of  its  steep-pitched  roof,  suggestive  of 
thatch,  but  because  of  the  overhang  of  the  second 
story,  a  frequent  characteristic  of  Salem's  seven- 
teenth-century dwellings.  This  jutting  of  the  upper 
story  of  early  Colonial  houses  a  foot  or  two  beyond 
the  lower  has  sometimes  been  said  to  have  provided 
gun  apertures,  after  the  manner  of  a  blockhouse,  for 

[6] 


The    Gable  and  Peaked-Roof  House 

fighting  hostile  Indians.  It  is  improbable,  however, 
that  this  construction  was  ever  so  used  in  Salem,  for 
the  Indians  of  the  locality  were  friendly.  The  idea 
is  of  much  earlier  origin,  and  as  it  was  characteristic 
of  the  Elizabethan  house,  its  manifestations  in 
America,  like  the  many  steep-pitched  shingled  roofs, 
were  for  the  most  part  mere  persistence  of  British 
traditions.  The  overhang  of  some  of  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  century  houses  of  England  is  said  to 
have  been  sufficient  to  provide  shelter  from  the  rain 
before  the  introduction  of  umbrellas ;  but  this  was 
probably  incidental  to  the  more  essential  protection 
they  afforded  against  the  disintegration  of  the  custom- 
ary plastered  walls  of  the  time.  Thus  developed 
the  characteristic  penthouse  roof  at  the  second-floor 
level  of  the  ledge-stone  houses  of  Germantown  and 
eastern  Pennsylvania  the  walls  of  which  at  first  were 
laid  up  in  clay. 

Lime  for  making  more  permanent  mortar  was  far 
from  plentiful  for  many  years  after  America  was  first 
settled.  For  a  time  the  rooms  were  plastered  with 
clay  mixed  with  straw,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to 
conceal  the  hewn  beams  of  the  ceiling.  Later,  in 
more  expensive  houses,  a  lime  made  of  shells  was  used 
and  mixed  with  cattle  hair,  sand  and  chalk.  We 
read  that  one  of  the  commissions  of  Thomas  Graves, 
who  came  to  Salem  in  1629,  consisted  in  "fynding  out 
sorts  of  lime  stone  and  materials  for  building."  In 
1663,  referring  to  the  builders  of  Salem,  John  Josselyn 

[7l 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

wrote  of  the  absence  of  stone  that  would  "run  to 
lime,  of  which  they  have  great  want."  Not  many 
years  later,  however,  an  abundant  supply  was  found 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  supplies  were  brought  to  Salem 
by  ship,  not  only  for  plastering  but  for  whitewashing 
the  plastered  walls  occasionally,  as  was  the  custom 
until  the  advent  of  wall  papers  about  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  or  later.  However,  the  fact 
that  in  1724  it  was  "ordered  that  muscles  shall  not 
be  used  for  making  lime  or  any  thing  else,  except  for 
food  and  bait  to  catch  fish"  indicates  that  shell  lime 
was  still  in  use  at  the  time. 

According  to  the  records,  in  April,  1655,  John 
Becket,  a  shipwright  and  the  head  of  the  family, 
bought  of  Samuel  Archer,  a  Salem  carpenter,  "one 
dwelling  house  and  three  acres  of  land  behind  it,  be 
it  more  or  less,  for  the  sum  of  sixteen  pounds."  The 
dwelling  referred  to  may  not  have  been  the  present 
Becket  house,  but  that  the  latter  was  erected  about 
this  time  or  a  few  years  later  is  indicated  by  its 
seventeenth-century  character.  A  complete  model 
of  the  house,  made  by  Daniel  C.  Becket,  Retire 
Becket's  nephew,  now  reposes  in  the  Essex  Institute, 
and  indicates  to  what  extent  the  original  structure 
has  been  altered. 

In  the  days  when  this  old  house  commanded  a  view 
of  the  harbor  and  the  distant  Marblehead  shore,  it 
was  nearly  double  its  present  length.  In  1850,  an 
undivided  half  of  the  estate  being  sold  to  Stephen 

[8] 


The   Gahle  and  Peaked- Roof  House 

C.  Phillips,  the  building  was  literally  cut  in  half,  the 
front  portion  remaining  on  the  original  site  and  the 
rear  being  converted  into  a  barn  which  stands  some- 
what back  from  its  original  location.  Thus  the 
inclosed  entrance  porch,  formerly  at  the  center  of  the 
front,  is  now  at  the  rear  end,  while  the  present  large 
outbuilding  is  of  more  recent  origin.  The  huge 
chimney  was  removed  and  a  third  story  provided  by 
raising  the  roof  several  feet,  but  the  overhang  was 
retained.  In  1857  the  front  portion  of  the  house  also 
passed  out  of  the  Becket  family,  and  in  1916  the 
house  was  purchased  for  preservation  by  Miss  Caro- 
line O.  Emmerton,  the  guiding  influence  of  the  House 
of  the  Seven  Gables  Settlement  Association,  and  will 
be  completely  restored. 

Among  the  earliest  seventeenth-century  many- 
gabled  structures  of  which  we  have  any  accurate 
knowledge  was  the  so-called  Governor  Brads treet 
house  which,  until  taken  down  in  1753,  occupied  the 
present  site  of  the  museum  building  of  the  Essex 
Institute  at  Number  136  Essex  Street.  The  house 
was  built  by  Emanuel  Downing  the  barrister,  prob- 
ably in  1638,  the  year  he  settled  in  Salem,  and,  as 
shown  by  an  old  painting  preserved  in  the  Essex 
Institute,  was  a  typical  Elizabethan  house,  con- 
structed of  wood.  One  notices  at  once  the  character- 
istic doorway  with  fanciful,  latticed,  flanking  towers 
reminiscent  of  feudal  days,  the  diamond-paned 
casement    windows,    and    the    large    ornamental- 

[9] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

topped  chimney  stacks  and  finials  at  the  peak  of 
each  gable. 

Emanuel  Downing  married  Governor  John  Win- 
throp's  daughter,  Lucy,  and  it  was  for  their  son,  Sir 
George  Downing,  the  English  soldier  and  diplomatist, 
that  Downing  Street,  London,  now  a  synonym  for  the 
official  residence  of  the  Prime  Minister,  was  named. 
Later,  Downing  College,  Cambridge,  England,  was 
named  for  Sir  George's  grandson,  the  third  baronet. 
Emanuel  Downing's  daughter,  Ann,  married  Captain 
Joseph  Gardner,  the  "Fighting  Joe"  of  King  Philip's 
War,  and  it  was  from  this  very  house  that  he  set 
forth  to  the  "Great  Swamp  Fight"  in  1675,  where  he 
met  his  death.  His  widow  married  Simon  Brad- 
street,  the  last  Colonial  governor  of  Massachusetts 
under  the  first  charter,  who  occupied  the  house  in  his 
old  age  and  died  there  March  27,  1697,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-four.  After  her  death  in  171 3  the  old  man- 
sion was  used  for  a  time  as  a  tavern  under  the  "  Sign 
of  the  Globe",  and  later  it  was  for  several  years 
the  home  estate  of  the  Bowditch  family,  of  which 
Nathaniel  Bowditch  the  mathematician  was  the  most 
eminent  member. 

On  this  site,  in  a  handsome  three-story  square 
mansion  designed  by  Samuel  Mclntire  in  1790  for 
Congressman  Nathan  Read,  William  Hickling  Pres- 
cott,  the  historian  known  throughout  the  world  for 
his  "Conquest  of  Mexico",  "Conquest  of  Peru"  and 
other  historical  works,  was  born  May  4,  1796.     In 

[10] 


The   Gable  and  Peaked-Roof  House 

1799  the  house  became  the  residence  of  Captain 
Joseph  Peabody,  a  wealthy  merchant  prominent  in 
the  Calcutta  trade,  and  in  1856,  after  the  death  of  his 
widow,  it  was  razed  to  make  way  the  following  year 
for  the  erection  of  the  building  now  occupied  by  the 
museum  of  the  Essex  Institute. 

In  Nathaniel  Hawthorne's  day  several  many- 
gabled  houses  were  still  standing,  but  aside  from  that 
immortalized  by  him  in  "The  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables"  none  remains  but  the  remodeled  Pickering 
house.  Notable  among  those  that  have  been  taken 
down  were  the  Deliverance  Parkman  house,  erected 
about  1673  and  razed  in  1835,  which  stood  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Essex  and  North  streets ;  the 
Philip  English  house  on  the  corner  of  Essex  and 
English  streets,  erected  in  1685  and  razed  in  1833 ; 
and  the  Lewis  Hunt  house  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Washington  and  Lynde  streets,  erected  about  1698 
and  razed  in  1863.  The  two  former  are  shown  by 
sketches  preserved  at  the  Essex  Institute,  while  the 
latter  remained  long  enough  to  be  permanently 
recorded  by  photography. 

All  were  drawn  upon  largely  by  Hawthorne  in  his 
writings.  The  Deliverance  Parkman  house  was 
referred  to  by  him  In  his  "Notes"  as  the  one 
"wherein  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the  present  occu- 
pants used  to  practice  alchemy",  and  is  brought  into 
the  story  of  "Peter  Goldthwaite's  Treasure",  first 
published  in  "The  Token"  of  1838  and  reprinted  in 

[  II  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

"Twice  Told  Tales."  He  described  it  as  "one  of 
those  rusty,  moss-grown,  many-peaked  wooden  houses 
which  are  scattered  about  the  streets  of  our  elder 
towns,  with  a  beetle-browed  second  story  projecting 
over  the  foundation,  as  if  it  frowned  at  the  novelty 
around  it."  The  similarity  of  this  story  to  consider- 
ably elaborated  portions  of  "The  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables"  is  obvious,  and  indicates  that  the  house  of 
this  romantic  name  was  not  an  existing  dwelling 
accurately  described,  but  represented  a  composite 
of  several  many-gabled  houses  of  Salem  together  with 
generous  additions  from  Hawthorne's  vivid  im- 
agination. 

Although  no  single  homestead  actually  comprised 
the  giant  elm  tree,  the  shop,  Clifford's  chamber,  the 
arched  window  and  the  secret  closet  behind  the 
portrait,  the  old  house  at  Number  54  Turner  Street 
known  as  "The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables"  was  so 
intimately  associated  with  the  story, of  that  name, 
and,  in  fact,  with  Hawthorne's  whole  literary  career, 
as  to  have  justified  the  appellation.  Like  many 
quaint  dwellings  of  the  period,  it  was  gradually 
enlarged,  the  oldest  part  probably  being  that  seen 
in  the  right-hand  portion  of  the  accompanying 
illustration,  which  shows  the  restored  house  as  it 
stands  to-day.  The  lean-to,  however,  while  it  is 
typical  and  enhances  the  general  picturesqueness, 
is  of  recent  origin.  Indoors,  also,  successive  alter- 
ations were  made,  and  the  elaborate  woodwork  of 

[12] 


The   Gable  and  Peaked^ Roof  House 

the  parlor  is  of  later  date  than  the  house.  Some- 
what before  1891  the  big,  old-fashioned  chimney- 
stack  in  the  original  part  of  the  house  was  removed, 
and  from  it  was  taken  a  fireback  dated  1669,  probably 
the  date  of  erection. 

For  many  years  this  house  was  occupied  by  the 
Ingersoll  family,  relatives  of  the  Hawthornes.  Na- 
thaniel Hawthorne  was  a  frequent  visitor  and  received 
much  of  his  literary  inspiration  there.  In  those  days 
the  house  boasted  only  four  or  five  gables,  but  Haw- 
thorne's cousin,  Miss  Susan  Ingersoll,  is  said  to 
have  told  him  that  it  formerly  had  seven  and  to 
have  shown  him  beams  and  mortises  in  the  attic 
to  prove  the  statement.  Upon  coming  down  the 
winding  stairs,  so  the  story  goes, Hawthorne  remarked 
abstractedly,  "House  of  Seven  Gables  —  that  sounds 
well",  and  as  the  novel  of  that  name  appeared  soon 
afterward  the  incident  is  thought  to  have  determined 
his  choice  of  a  title.  That  he  had  the  romance  well 
in  hand  before  naming  it  is  indicated  by  a  letter  to  an 
old  friend  not  long  before  the  date  of  publication,  in 
which  he  wrote : 

"  I  am  beginning  to  puzzle  myself  for  a  title  for  the 
book.  The  scene  of  it  is  in  one  of  the  old  projecting- 
storied  houses  familiar  to  me  in  Salem.  ...  I 
think  of  such  titles  as  'The  House  of  Seven  Gables,' 
there  being  that  number  of  gable  ends  to  the  old 
shanty;  or  'Seven  Gabled  House,'  or  simply,  'The 
Seven  Gables.'" 

[13] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

The  inspiration  for  that  delightful  collection  of 
children's  stories  called  "Grandfather's  Chair"  is 
also  said  to  have  resulted  from  a  suggestion  by  Miss 
Ingersoll.  During  one  of  his  visits,  Hawthorne 
complained  dejectedly  that  he  had  written  himself 
out,  whereupon  Miss  Ingersoll  remarked,  pointing 
to  an  old  armchair  long  in  the  family,  "Nat,  why 
don't  you  write  about  this  old  chair  ?  There  must 
be  many  stories  connected  with  it."  This  chair  may 
still  be  seen  in  its  accustomed  place  in  the  old  house. 

The  episode  of  the  picture  of  the  dead  judge  seen 
through  the  window,  which  every  reader  of  "The 
House  of  the  Seven  Gables"  will  recall,  was  ap- 
parently developed  from  another  visit  to  the  Turner 
Street  house.  One  day  an  adopted  son  of  Miss 
Ingersoll  fell  asleep  in  his  chair  in  the  south  parlor 
where  he  could  be  seen  through  an  entryway  by  any 
passer-by  who  happened  to  look  in  at  the  low  win- 
dow. Hawthorne,  approaching  the  house,  startled 
by  his  friend's  motionless  attitude  and  confused  by 
the  half  shadow  and  cross  lights,  awoke  him,  ex- 
claiming, "Good  Heavens,  Horace,  I  thought  you 
were  dead."  The  window  in  question  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  lookout  occupied  by  the  toll  gatherer 
of  the  Marblehead  ferry  which  left  the  foot  of  Turner 
Street  two  centuries  ago. 

It  was  Horace  Ingersoll  who  told  Hawthorne  the 
story  of  the  Acadian  lovers,  as  recounted  in  the 
first  volume  of  his  "Notes."     This  story  was  the 

[14] 


Plate  VI.  —  Philip  English  House.      Erected  in  1685.     Razed  1833  ; 
Lewis  Hunt  House.      Erected  about  1698.      Razed  1863. 


Plate  VII.  —  The  Pickering  House,  i8  Broad  Street,     Erected  1660. 

Remodeled  1841  ;   Rebecca  Nurse  House,  Tapleyville. 

Erected  about  1636. 


The   Gable  and  Peaked- Roof  House 

basis  of  Longfellow's  classic  * 'Evangeline",  and  an 
account  of  the  connection  of  the  novelist  and  his 
friend  with  the  poem  is  to  be  found  in  the  second 
volume  of  the  "Life  of  Longfellow"  by  Samuel 
Longfellow. 

Through  the  generosity  and  active  encouragement 
of  Miss  Caroline  O.  Emmerton  in  1909,  this  inter- 
esting old  house  of  so  many  pleasant  associations 
was  restored  throughout  to  practically  its  former 
character,  and  entirety,  and  made  the  center  of  a 
philanthropic  neighborhood  settlement.  As  in  earlier 
days  its  many-paned  windows  now  look  out  upon  the 
harbor,  for  the  seaman's  "Bethel"  which  for  many 
years  stood  in  front  of  it  has  been  removed  to  the  rear 
and  altered  for  settlement  needs.  To  this  estate  also 
was  brought  the  quaint  "Old  Bakery",  formerly  at 
Number  23  Washington  Street,  and  likewise  com- 
pletely restored.  Indeed,  visitors  find  this  group  of 
buildings  one  of  the  most  interesting  attractions  of 
Salem. 

Joseph  Everett  Chandler,  the  architect  in  charge, 
is  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  success  of  his  work, 
for  it  perpetuates  a  picturesque  and  disappearing 
type  of  our  early  architecture  and  is  delightfully 
characteristic,  even  though  perhaps  conforming  more 
nearly  to  the  description  of  Hawthorne's  fancy  than 
the  original  house  ever  did.  Mr.  Chandler  found  the 
mortised  beams  shown  to  Hawthorne,  and  the  two 
missing   gables   were   added   accordingly.     He   also 

[IS] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

discovered  that  the  original  overhang  of  the  southern 
gable,  with  second-story  posts  extending  below  the 
supporting  girt  and  terminating  in  turned  drops,  had 
been  boarded  down  to  conceal  it,  and  this  false 
structure  was  promptly  removed.  Hawthorne  also 
detailed  minutely  a  rough-cast  ornament  under  the 
eaves  that  was  probably  never  a  feature  of  this 
house.  Rather  it  appears  to  have  been  an  accurate 
description  of  an  ornament  which  was  taken  from  the 
Colonel  William  Browne  mansion,  afterward  the 
Sun  Tavern,  when  William  Gray,  Jr.,  one  of  Salem's 
greatest  merchants,  razed  it  to  make  way  for  his  own 
more  modern  residence.  Hawthorne  had  doubtless 
noticed  this  in  the  Essex  Historical  Society  collec- 
tion, and  it  may  still  be  seen  to-day  in  the  Essex 
Institute. 

The  Pickering  house  at  Number  i8  Broad  Street, 
frequently  said  to  be  the  oldest  dwelling  now  re- 
maining in  Salem  proper,  stands  on  land  granted  to 
John  Pickering,  one  of  the  first  settlers,  in  1637,  and 
has  ever  since  been  owned  and  occupied  by  his  lineal 
descendants.  It  was  erected  in  1660,  as  shown  by 
the  date  on  the  fireback,  now  preserved  at  the  Essex 
Institute,  and  which  was  cast  by  Elisha  Jenks  of 
Saugus,  the  first  iron  founder  in  the  colonies.  The 
several  gables  and  steep  front  pitch  of  the  roof  sug- 
gest the  thatched  Elizabethan  house,  while  the 
broader,  flatter  pitch  of  the  rear  indicates  a  subse- 
quent lean-to   addition.     Unfortunately   the   house 

[16] 


The   Gable  and  Peaked-Roof  House 

lost  much  of  its  former  interest  and  charm  as  a  result 
of  extensive  alterations  in  1841,  when  the  fanciful 
wood  trim  and  flamboyant  fence  of  the  Victorian 
period  were  added. 

Colonel  Timothy  Pickering,  soldier,  statesman  and 
the  most  illustrious  member  of  his  family,  was  born 
in  this  house  in  1745.  From  the  first  armed  resist- 
ance to  British  tyranny  at  the  North  Bridge  two 
months  before  Paul  Revere's  immortal  ride  until  after 
the  surrender  by  Cornwallis  he  was  conspicuous  in 
the  Continental  army.  He  fought  in  the  battles  of 
Germantown  and  Brandywine,  and  as  a  colonel  and 
adjutant-general  served  his  country  well.  Later, 
he  was  elected  a  representative  and  senator,  and  at 
different  times  held  the  portfolios  of  Postmaster- 
general,  Secretary  of  War  and  Secretary  of  State 
in  Washington's  cabinet.  His  son  was  John  Picker- 
ing, LL.D.,  the  Greek  lexicographer  and  famous 
linguist,  who  lived  for  many  years  in  the  house  at 
Number  18  Chestnut  Street  which  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne occupied  for  about  sixteen  months  in  1846- 

1847- 


[17I 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  LEAN-TO  HOUSE 

WITH  the  passing  of  thatch,  roofs  were  some- 
what less  steeply  pitched,  and  with  the 
waning  of  Elizabethan  influences  in  design,  newer 
conceptions  gradually  supplanted  the  rambling,  many- 
gabled  dwellings  of  former  years.  Builders  sought 
to  enlarge  the  ground  floor  rather  than  garret  space, 
and  frequently  accomplished  this  in  Salem  and 
neighboring  colonies  by  placing  a  lean-to  or  shed  with 
a  single-pitched  roof  against  one  wall  of  the  larger 
gable-roof  structure.  Many  existing  houses  were 
enlarged  in  this  manner  and  in  erecting  new  dwellings 
the  lean-to  was  frequently  built  as  one  with  the  main 
house.  While  the  lean-to  was  joined  to  the  house  in 
several  ways  and  positions,  it  was  oftenest  formed  by 
a  downward  continuation  of  the  back  side  of  the  main 
roof  at  the  same  pitch,  with  the  result  that  this  snug 
cottage  of  angular  contour  and  long  sweep  of  roof  line 
has  become  a  strikingly  characteristic  type  of  the  early 
domestic  architecture  of  New  England. 

Picturesque  in  mass  and  outline,  its  facade  re- 
lieved by  an  inclosed  porch  of  later  date  with  gable 
roof  and  small  oval  side  windows,  the  Rea-Putnam- 

[i8] 


I^L 


Plate    VIII.  —  Rea-Putnam-Fowler    House,    Danvers.     Erected 

before  1692;  Maria  Goodhue  House,  North  Street,  Danvers. 

Erected  1690.      Burned  1899. 


V 


00 


W 


c/3 


3 
O 


c 

O 


X 


< 
Oh 


The   Lean-to   House 

Fowler  house  in  Danvers  is  perhaps  the  most  at- 
tractive and  best-preserved  example  extant.  It  is 
supposed  to  have  been  built  and  occupied  by  Daniel 
Rea,  the  original  immigrant  of  that  name,  who  came 
to  Salem  from  Plymouth  in  1632  and  later  was 
granted  the  tract  of  land  on  which  the  house  stands. 
His  daughter  Bethia's  husband  was  Captain  Thomas 
Lothrop,  who,  with  many  of  his  men,  "  the  flower  of 
Essex",  was  massacred  September  18,  1675,  in  the 
fight  with  King  Philip  and  his  Indian  warriors.  In 
1692  this  house  was  owned  by  Daniel  Rea,  a  grand- 
son of  the  first  Daniel,  and  many  years  afterward 
came  into  the  possession  of  Captain  Edmund  Put- 
nam, who  led  his  company  of  "minute  men"  in  that 
memorable  opening  fight  of  the  Revolution  on  April 
I9j  1775-  It  was  later  occupied  by  Honorable  Elias 
Putnam  and  more  recently  for  many  years  by 
Augustus  Fowler. 

Another  house  of  generally  similar  character, 
though  presenting  interesting  variations  in  fenes- 
tration and  having  the  front  entrance  to  one  side  of 
the  center,  after  the  frequent  manner  of  the  time, 
is  the  Bishop-Nurse  house  located  in  Tapleyville, 
which  attained  historic  interest  as  the  home  of 
Rebecca  Nurse,  one  of  the  martyrs  of  the  witchcraft 
delusion  of  1692.  It  was  built  and  occupied  by 
Townsend  Bishop  upon  a  grant  of  three  hundred 
acres  made  to  him  January  11,  1636.  Later  it 
passed  through  the  hands  of  Henry  Chickering  to 

[19] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Governor  John  Endecott,  as  part  of  his  thousand- 
acre  estate,  of  which  "Orchard  Farm"  and  the 
"Governor's  Plain"  were  parts.  From  the  governor 
the  place  passed  into  the  possession  of  his  son,  John 
Endecott,  Jr.,  and  on  his  death  to  his  wife  Elizabeth. 
She  afterward  married  Reverend  James  Allen  of  the 
First  Church,  Boston,  and  he  eventually  deeded  it 
to  Francis  Nurse,  whose  wife  Rebecca  was  hanged 
as  a  witch  July  19,  1692,  by  order  of  the  judges  and 
contrary  to  the  verdict  of  the  jury.  A  woman  of 
exemplary  character,  she  bore  the  ordeal  of  her  trial 
nobly  and  as  her  chief  defense  uttered  the  heroic 
statement,  "  I  can  say  before  my  Eternal  Father  I  am 
innocent,  and  God  will  clear  my  innocency." 

Two  other  houses  of  almost  identical  lean-to 
arrangement  deserve  a  record  here,  although  space 
does  not  permit  the  illustration  of  both.  Before  its 
destruction  by  fire  in  1899,  the  so-called  Maria 
Goodhue  house,  a  shingled  structure  on  North 
Street,  Danvers,  interested  students  of  architecture 
by  reason  of  the  unusual  plaster  coving  under  the 
front  eaves  and  the  large,  nicely  worked  chimney 
stack  of  Tudor  origin.  Benjamin  Putnam,  grandson 
of  John  Putnam,  the  patriarch  of  the  Putnam  family, 
holder  of  many  civil  and  military  offices  and  a  deacon 
of  the  First  Church,  built  it  in  1690. 

Numbers  27  and  29  Daniels  Street,  the  early  child- 
hood home  of  Honorable  Nathaniel  Silsbee,  United 
States  senator  from  1826  to  1835,  presents  an  ex- 

[20] 


The   Lean-to   House 

ceptlonal  example  of  the  large  three-story  lean-to, 
with  foreshortened  upper  windows,  after  the  manner 
of  the  square  mansions  of  a  later  day. 

Coming  as  these  lean-to  cottages  did,  simultane- 
ously with  the  last  of  the  Elizabethan  houses,  it  was 
natural  that  they  should  in  some  instances  continue 
certain  features  of  their  predecessors,  such  as  the 
overhanging  second  story,  usually  confined  to  one 
or  two  opposite  sides  rather  than  circling  the  entire 
structure.  The  transitional  character  of  such  build- 
ings is  best  shown  by  the  old  John  Ward  house.  In 
the  accompanying  illustration  it  is  seen  as  it  stood 
for  many  years  on  the  original  site  at  Number  38  St. 
Peter  Street  where  it  had  been  built  in  1684  by  John 
Ward.  For  a  time  a  bakery  business  was  conducted 
there,  the  lean-to  providing  the  shop.  This  house 
must  originally  have  rested  on  the  ground,  the  brick 
cellar  wall  seen  in  the  photograph  probably  having 
been  put  under  because  of  a  change  of  grade  in  the 
street  and  court  on  which  it  stood.  Brickwork  did 
not  become  a  feature  of  Salem  architecture  until  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  first  brick  house  having  been 
built  there  in  1700  and  later  taken  down.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  lean-to  takes  a  flatter  pitch  than  the 
roof  of  the  main  house,  which  is  steep  enough  to  have 
been  thatched,  and  this  difl'erence  in  a  continuous 
roof  suggests  the  probability  of  a  subsequent  addition. 

The  John  Ward  house  now  stands  in  the  garden  at 
the  rear  of  the  Essex  Institute  among  old-fashioned 

[21] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

flowers  that  are  only  names  to  many,  and  has  been 
restored  as  nearly  as  possible  to  Its  presumable 
pristine  appearance.  Mortises  and  boarding  were 
found  for  peaked  windows  In  the  front  of  the  roof, 
indicating  that  the  structure  had  at  an  early  date 
been  remodeled  to  conform  to  the  prevailing  mode. 
These  peaked  windows  antedated  the  dormer,  and 
their  reconstruction  with  diamond-paned,  leaded, 
casement  sashes  throughout  the  main  house  has 
resulted  In  an  enhanced  air  of  Puritan  qualntness. 
The  front  door  Is  of  primitive  batten  construction 
with  wide,  vertical  boards  on  the  outside  and  hori- 
zontal boards  Inside  nailed  to  them.  It  has  an  old 
English  lock  with  ponderous  key.  Every  detail  of 
the  restoration  was  carefully  worked  out  In  com- 
parison with  the  large  and  varied  collection  of 
antiques  in  the  museum  of  the  Essex  Institute,  and 
the  resources  of  the  Institute  were  also  drawn  upon 
generously  to  furnish  the  house  throughout  In  an 
appropriate  manner,  with  the  result  that  visitors  find 
it  a  veritable  treasure  house  of  relics  of  bygone  days. 
Downstairs  there  are  two  main  rooms,  and  a 
kitchen  to  the  right  of  a  small  entry  and  well-designed 
winding  stairway.  Above,  there  are  two  chambers. 
The  attic  is  unfinished  and  contains  many  interesting 
old  "castaways."  Summer  beams  cross  the  ceilings, 
carrying  the  lighter  floor  joists,  about  five  inches  in 
diameter  and  hewn  nearly  square  in  section.  The 
lean-to  includes  an  apothecary  shop  modeled  upon 

[22] 


Plate  X  —The  Old  Bakery,  formerly  at  25  Washington  Street. 
Erected  1683;    Detail  of  Old  Bakery  Overhang. 


Plate    XI. — The    Narbonne    House,    71    Essex    Street.      Erected 
before  1671;   Rear  of  the  Narbonne  House. 


The   Lean-to   House 

that  of  Doctor  William  Webb  and  containing  goods 
owned  by  him  and  two  contemporaries,  a  Salem 
"cent  shop"  where  young  folks  might  buy  books, 
cookies,  candies  and  the  like,  and  a  weave  room,  all 
fully  furnished  in  the  period  of  1830. 

Like  the  original  houses  of  this  and  the  earlier 
period  the  restored  John  Ward  house  is  not  painted, 
either  inside  or  out,  and  the  clapboarding  long  since 
took  on  the  weather-beaten  effect  of  age.  Red  was 
the  first  color  used  for  house  painting  in  America,  per- 
haps because  of  the  prevalence  of  brickwork  for  the 
better  buildings  in  England,  whence  the  paint  was 
imported.  It  is  doubtful  whether  white  or  yellow 
was  the  next  to  follow.  These  three  are  the  accepted 
colors  for  Colonial  architecture. 

Unique  among  the  overhangs  on  Salem  buildings, 
the  Old  Bakery  attracts  notice  chiefly  because  of  the 
heavy  oaken  supporting  girders  or  summer  beams, 
with  their  chamfered  edges  and  ends  carved  to  the 
form  of  simple  ornamental  brackets.  Here,  indeed, 
one  sees  embellishment  of  genuine  sincerity,  added 
not  for  itself  but  to  improve  the  appearance  of 
structural  necessities.  The  oaken  corner  posts  are 
shouldered,  the  spaces  between  the  studding  are 
filled  with  bricks  laid  up  in  clay,  and  laths  split  from 
the  log  were  found  in  the  plastering  of  the  attic  stair- 
way. This  building,  erected  in  1683  by  Benjamin 
Hooper,  was  originally  a  one-room  cottage  with  the 
overhang  extending  along  its  entire  front,  the  large 

[23] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

chimney  then  having  been  at  the  eastern  end.  Like 
the  John  Ward  house  it  probably  rested  on  the  ground 
originally,  the  high  brick  foundation  having  been  put 
under  it  at  the  time  the  grade  of  Washington  Street 
was  lowered.  For  many  years  it  stood  as  shown  by 
the  accompanying  illustration  at  Number  23  Wash- 
ington Street,  until  in  191 1,  at  the  instance  of  Miss 
Caroline  O.  Emmerton,  it  was  moved  to  the  garden  of 
"The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables"  and  thoroughly 
restored. 

The  two-story  wooden  building  seen  beyond  It  at 
the  left  was  erected  In  1784  by  the  town  of  Salem  for 
the  Centre  Grammar  School,  and  there  in  1840  the 
late  Honorable  Joseph  Hodges  Choate,  the  eminent 
lawyer  and  diplomat,  who  served  as  United  States 
ambassador  to  Great  Britain  from  1899  to  1905,  went 
to  school,  Abner  Brooks  being  master. 

Often  a  lean-to  roof  joined  the  main  house  several 
inches  below  the  gable  roof,  suggesting  the  curb  of  the 
gambrel  roof,  except  that  the  pitch  of  the  two  was 
usually  identical,  any  difference  being  a  flatter  lower 
slope  as  opposed  to  the  steeper  slope  of  the  gambrel 
type.  The  lateral  division  of  the  building  thus 
formed  recalls  church  architecture  to  a  degree,  the 
lean-to  having  the  same  relation  to  the  main  house, 
in  respect  to  exterior  appearance,  that  an  aisle  has  to 
the  nave.  An  especially  interesting  case  in  point  is 
presented  by  the  Narbonne  house,  Number  71  Essex 
Street,   erected   before   1671.     The   steeply  pitched 

1 24] 


The   Lean-to   House 

roof,  the  large  chimney  stack  and  the  many-paned 
windows  are  all  characteristic  of  the  period,  while 
the  Dutch  door  in  the  lean-to  was  formerly  the  en- 
trance to  another  "cent  shop",  a  Salem  institution  of 
a  century  ago  which  inspired  a  bit  of  vivid  description 
in  Hawthorne's  "House  of  the  Seven  Gables." 

A  study  of  the  rear  of  this  house  will  prove  as 
interesting  as  of  the  front.  The  original  structure 
boasted  only  one  room  to  each  floor  besides  the  shop 
in  the  lean-to.  When  more  rooms  were  needed  the 
gambrel  roof  had  come  into  fashion  and  was  chosen 
for  the  addition,  the  lean-to  being  extended  and  its 
single-pitch  roof  being  run  up  to  the  curb  of  the 
gambrel  to  form  one  of  those  curious  combinations 
of  which  only  a  few  remain  in  Essex  County. 

The  lower  front  room  is  probably  the  best  pre- 
served interior  of  this  period  in  Salem.  Accompany- 
ing photographs  show  clearly  the  hand-hewn  framing 
along  the  floor  and  ceiling,  the  chamfered  corner  posts 
and  exposed  summer  beams  across  the  ceiling.  The 
two-panel  door  with  its  wrought-iron  latch,  the  three- 
part  window  shutters  with  six-pointed  star  openings 
and  strap  hinges,  the  simple  mantel,  paneling  and 
corner  buffet  of  later  date,  all  have  a  quaint  appeal 
no  less  than  the  many  antiques  of  worth  among  the 
furnishings.  As  one  stands  in  this  ancient,  low- 
studded  room,  fancy  wanders  back  to  the  time  of  its 
building  and  readily  pictures  it  before  its  walls  had 
been  papered  or  its  floor  had  known  other  coverings 

[25] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

than  light  blue  sand  from  the  beaches  of  Gloucester 
and  Ipswich  scattered  upon  it  in  circular  and  spotted 
patterns  in  lieu  of  rugs,  following  the  customary 
Monday  scouring.  We  are  thus  reminded  that  such 
was  the  policy  of  the  governors  under  the  first  charter, 
Endecott  and  Bradstreet,  to  exclude  "luxuries"  for 
the  most  part,  that  not  until  after  this  charter  was 
annulled  in  1686  did  the  refinements,  as  distinguished 
from  the  meager  necessities,  of  home  life  find  much 
encouragement.  The  door  at  the  second  landing 
leading  to  the  attic  still  has  its  old  latch  string, 
probably  the  only  remaining  example  of  this  primitive 
fixture  in  Salem. 

Several  old  houses  still  standing  illustrate  the  fre- 
quent though  unattractive  custom  of  extending  the 
lean-to  far  enough  beyond  one  end  of  the  main  house 
to  permit  a  side  door  facing  front  and  opening  into 
the  rear  part  of  the  dwelling.  While  this  arrange- 
ment known  as  a  "jut-by"  furnished  a  little  ad- 
ditional room,  though  no  obvious  advantage  over  a 
door  in  the  end  of  the  lean-to  like  that  of  the  Rea- 
Putnam-Fowler  house,  it  was  gained  at  the  expense 
of  angular,  almost  ugly  severity.  The  George  Jacobs 
house,  Danversport,  still  standing  in  the  fields  east 
of  Gardner's  Hill,  shows  this  and  also  the  strange 
occasional  location  of  the  front  door  well  to  one  side 
of  the  center  with  pairs  of  windows  widely  spaced  on 
one  side  and  near  together  on  the  other.  It  was 
probably   built   by   Richard   Waters    early   in    the 

[26] 


Plate    XII. — Front   Room  of  the  Narbonne   House;  Mantel  and 
China  Closet,  Narbonne  House. 


f^'^' 


Plate  XIII.  —  George  Jacobs  House,  Danversport.      Erected  before 
1658;  Judge  Samuel  Holton  House,  Danvers.     Erected  about  1650. 


The   Lean-to   House 

seventeenth  century  and  in  1658  was  conveyed  to 
George  Jacobs,  Sr.  From  this  house  the  aged  man, 
over  eighty  years  old,  was  taken  away  and  jailed, 
tried  for  witchcraft,  condemned,  and  finally  exe- 
cuted on  Gallows  Hill,  August  19,  1692,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Reverend  Cotton  Mather,  minister  of  the  Old 
North  Church,  Boston.  A  painting  by  Matterson 
depicting  the  trial  of  George  Jacobs  may  be  seen  in 
the  picture  gallery  of  the  Essex  Institute.  His 
words,  "Well,  burn  me  or  hang  me,  I  will  stand  in  the 
truth  of  Christ,"  indicated  that  he  was  a  good  and 
brave  man  who  suffered  an  awful  injustice  at  the 
hands  of  his  accusers. 

One  of  the  most  picturesque  dwellings  of  this 
period,  with  a  side  door  in  a  "jut-by"  lean-to,  is  the 
Goodale  house  in  Peabody.  Isaac  Goodale  erected 
this  farmhouse  on  the  one  hundred  acres  of  land  con- 
veyed to  him  in  1 667-1 668  by  his  father,  Robert 
Goodale  or  Goodell,  a  husbandman,  from  the  480 
acres  the  latter  had  acquired  by  purchase  prior  to 
1653  and  including  two  grants  of  twenty  acres  each 
from  the  Town  of  Salem  in  or  before  1636  and  in 
1 63 8-1 639.  Eight  generations  of  Goodales,  all  yeo- 
men from  the  second  to  the  sixth  generations  in- 
clusive, have  occupied  this  old  house,  and  not  until 
191 5  did  it  pass  out  of  the  family,  when  Jacob  Oscar 
Goodale  sold  it  to  Charles  R.  Stackpole,  of  Nahant. 

Much  like  the  foregoing,  the  John  Walcott  house 
near  by  in  Danvers  has  a  "jut-by"  lean-to  consider- 

.   [27] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

ably  less  steeply  pitched,  the  side  entrance  being 
elaborated  by  a  pedimental  doorhead.  In  1700  this 
house  and  the  farm  on  which  it  stands  belonged  to 
John  Walcott,  and  in  171 5  it  was  the  homestead  of 
Zachariah  Goodale,  of  Salem,  yeoman.  Until  1889 
it  was  owned  by  members  of  the  Goodale  and  Pope 
families,  having  been  sold  in  1753  by  David  Goodale, 
Zachariah's  son,  to  Nathaniel  Pope,  of  Danvers, 
yeoman.  The  place  is  now  owned  by  Miss  Caroline 
O.  Looney,  of  Salem,  who  has  expended  a  large  sum 
of  money  in  improvements  upon  the  house. 

Another  house  of  similar  lean-to  construction,  not 
shown  here,  was  the  so-called  Clark  house.  Summer 
Street,  Danvers.  This,  too,  was  built  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  while  the  front  entrance 
porch  is  centered  there  are  two  windows  to  each  floor 
on  one  side  of  it  and  only  one  on  the  other  side  — 
another  expression  of  the  custom  of  that  period  to 
let  exterior  appearance  frankly  express  interior  ar- 
rangement. During  the  anxious  days  of  1692  this 
was  the  home  of  Joseph  Putnam,  another  grandson 
of  the  first  John  Putnam  and  the  father  of  that  hero 
of  the  Revolution,  General  Israel  Putnam.  Cou- 
rageous and  outspoken,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
denounce  the  witchcraft  delusion  as  such  in  no 
uncertain  terms,  nor  to  let  it  be  known  that  he  and 
his  family  were  constantly  armed  and  could  be 
arrested  only  at  the  peril  of  life.  Had  enough  other 
men  as  frankly  asserted  and  as  energetically  main- 

[28] 


The   Lean-to   House 

tained  their  convictions  it  is  doubtful  if  any  exe- 
cutions for  witchcraft  would  ever  have  occurred 
either  in  Salem  or  Boston. 

Rarely  was  a  lean-to  placed  across  the  gable  end 
of  the  main  building  as  in  the  case  of  the  Judge 
Samuel  Hoi  ten  house,  erected  about  1650  by  Ben- 
jamin Holten  at  the  corner  of  Center  and  Holten 
streets,  Danvers  Center,  and  this  interesting  though 
unattractive  arrangement,  wherever  found,  was 
usually  a  subsequent  addition.  In  fact,  the  sagged 
portion  of  the  main  house  at  the  left  gives  the  im- 
pression that  the  whole  of  it  as  it  now  stands  was  not 
erected  at  one  time,  but  that  two  constructions  of 
similar  character  are  represented.  Colonial  houses 
with  two  front  doors,  even  though  occupied  by  only 
one  family,  are  by  no  means  unusual,  but  this  in- 
closed porch  with  its  double  doors  is  peculiar,  and  the 
large  twenty-paned  windows  exceptional.  As  the 
birthplace  and  home  of  Judge  Holten  this  old  house 
claims  more  than  passing  attention,  for  this  ardent 
patriot  was  one  of  the  most  noted  men  of  Essex 
County  and  has  a  public  record  to  his  credit  equaled 
by  few  Americans. 

Born  in  1738,  he  became  a  physician  by  profession, 
having  studied  medicine  with  Doctor  Jonathan 
Prince  and  practiced  in  both  Danvers  and  Gloucester. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Colonial  Convention  in 
1768 ;  five  years  in  the  Continental  Congress,  at 
times  acting  as  president;    a  member  of  the  Con- 

[29] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

stitutlonal  Convention ;  two  years  a  congressman ; 
five  years  a  senator ;  eight  years  a  representative  to 
the  General  Court ;  twelve  years  a  councillor ;  twice 
Presidential  elector ;  thirty-two  years  a  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  half  of  the  time  presiding ; 
thirty-five  years  Judge  of  the  Court  of  General 
Sessions  ;  fifteen  years  Chief  Justice ;  nineteen  years 
Judge  of  the  Probate  Court  for  Essex  County,  and 
twenty-four  years  Town  Treasurer. 

When  the  gambrel  roof  came  into  vogue  in  the 
eighteenth  century  the  lean-to  was  not  altogether 
discontinued  and  several  gambrel  lean-to  houses 
with  a  long  rear  roof  line  sloping  from  the  curb  down- 
ward still  remain  in  Salem.  At  Number  374  Essex 
Street  the  house  erected  before  1773,  with  its  simple, 
well-proportioned  dormers,  tall  chimneys  and  English 
chimney  pots,  is  a  good  example.  It  was,  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  the  residence  of  Doctor  Henry  Wheat- 
land, founder  of  the  Essex  County  Natural  History 
Society,  which  in  1848  by  union  with  the  Essex 
Historical  Society  was  merged  into  the  Essex  In- 
stitute. As  indicated  by  its  Greek  revival  character, 
the  entrance  porch  is  of  much  later  date  than  the 
house. 

Other  notable  dwellings  of  similar  character  in- 
clude the  John  Waters  house.  Number  5  Mason 
Street;  the  Jesse  Putnam  house.  Maple  Street, 
Danvers,  erected  before  1750  by  Deacon  Joseph 
Putnam ;  the  birthplace  of  Senator  Benjamin  Good- 

[30] 


Plate    XIV.  —  Isaac     Goodale    House,    Peabody.      Erected     about 
1667-8;  John  Walcott  House,  Danvers.      Erected  before  1700. 


Plate  XV.  —  John  Waters  House,  5  Mason  Street.      Erected  1800  ; 
Wheatland  House,  374  Essex  Street.      Erected  before  1773. 


The   L,ean-to   House 

hue,  erected  about  1736  by  his  father,  Benjamin 
Goodhue,  Sr.,  at  Number  70  Boston  Street ;  and  the 
Babbidge-Crowninshield-Bowker  house,  in  the  rear  of 
Number  46  Essex  Street,  erected  before  1700.  This 
latter  house  was  the  birthplace  of  Captain  George 
Crowninshield,  Honorable  Jacob  Crowninshield  and 
Honorable  Benjamin  W.  Crowninshield,  three 
brothers  who  rank  among  Salem's  greatest  historic 
figures,  and  of  whom  more  will  be  recorded  elsewhere 
in  these  pages.  Under  its  roof  also  was  organized 
the  Second  or  East  Church,  made  famous  by  the  long 
pastorate  of  Doctor  William  Bentley,  the  historian, 
patriot,  radical  and  scholar. 

The  accompanying  photograph  shows  the  western 
end  of  the  house  as  it  formerly  stood  directly  upon 
the  street,  the  eastern  end  beyond  the  front  door 
having  been  cut  off  some  fifty  years  ago  and  moved 
to  Grant  Street.  The  western  end  was  recently 
removed  to  the  rear  of  the  lot  and  a  modern  building 
erected  on  its  former  site. 

The  Jeffrey  Lang  house.  Number  371  Essex  Street, 
erected  in  1740,  instances  an  uncommon  lean-to 
addition  with  its  rafters  springing  from  the  eaves 
rather  than  the  curb  of  the  gambrel,  the  rear  portion 
of  the  roof  therefore  being  in  three  distinct  planes. 
At  the  time  of  its  purchase  and  demolition  several 
years  ago  by  the  late  Daniel  Low,  whose  estate 
adjoined  it  on  the  left,  this  was  one  of  the  oldest 
gambrel-roof  structures  in  Salem  and  the  huge  main 

[31] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

chimney,  the  absence  of  dormers,  the  high,  narrow, 
eighteen-paned  original  windows  and  the  pedimental 
doorway  with  its  heavy  paneled  wood  door,  iron 
thumb  latch  and  narrow  top-light,  all  speak  elo- 
quently of  those  early  days.  Jeffrey  Lang  was  a 
goldsmith,  and  like  most  tradesmen  of  the  time  had 
his  shop  in  the  corner  of  his  house  in  an  addition  at 
the  extreme  left,  probably  made  soon  after  the  house 
was  first  erected.  More  recently,  probably  just  be- 
fore 1850,  the  opposite  corner  room  was  remodeled 
as  a  variety  store  and  continued  as  such  until 
1889.  Wider  windows  were  presumably  put  into  the 
room  above  as  part  of  the  alterations  at  the  time 
this  second  store  was  installed.  Benjamin  J.  Lang, 
the  noted  organist,  pianist  and  conductor,  is  a  de- 
scendant of  Jeffrey  Lang. 

Without  exception  these  primitive  seventeenth- 
century  dwellings  of  the  early  settlers,  whether  hav- 
ing clustered  gables  or  introducing  the  long,  slop- 
ing, lean-to  roof,  reflect  the  simplicity  and  frugality 
of  Puritan  life  and  character.  They  indicate  that 
imperative  necessities  were  supplied  in  the  frank- 
est, most  direct  way,  with  but  scant  attempts  at 
embellishment  either  within  or  without.  Several 
of  the  interiors  now  contain  eighteenth-century 
woodwork,  and  in  consequence  have  lost  much  of 
their  former  appearance.  The  exterior  wood  trim, 
however,  including  corner  and  verge  boards,  door 
and  window  casings,  still  remains  as  severely  plain 

[32] 


Plate    XVI.  —  Babbidge    House,  46   Essex  Street.     Erected  before 
1700;  Jeffrey  Lang  House,  371  Essex  Street.      Erected  1740. 


Plate  XVII.  —  Senator  Benjamin  Goodhue  House,  403  Essex  Street. 
Erected  about  1780;   Clark-Morgan  House,  358  Essex  Street. 


The   Lean-to  House 

as  ever,  and  so  by  contrast  serves  to  emphasize  the 
elaboration  of  decorative  detail  which  accompanied 
the  advent  of  the  gambrel-roof  house  and  which 
likewise  characterized  all  the  Colonial  architecture 
which  followed. 


[33] 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  GAMBREL-ROOF   HOUSE 

THE  year  of  the  witchcraft  delusion  in  Salem 
marked  the  end  of  Colonial  times  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. In  1686  the  first  charter  was  annulled, 
and  in  1692,  after  a  stormy  six  years  politically, 
William  III  granted  to  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
a  second  charter,  under  which  the  governor  and 
lieutenant-governor  were  appointed  by  the  Crown 
and  all  laws  were  sent  to  England  for  royal  approval. 
Provincial  times  covered  the  period  from  1692  to 
the  days  of  the  Revolution.  During  these  years 
the  gambrel-roof  house  was  the  prevailing  style, 
at  first  small  and  very  simple,  but  toward  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  being  developed  into 
perhaps  the  largest,  handsomest  and  most  distinc- 
tive type  of  American  residence. 

The  gambrel  roof  represents  an  evolution  of  the 
seventeenth-century  Mansard  roof,  designed  by 
the  distinguished  French  architect,  Frangois  Man- 
sard, or  Mansart,  1 598-1666,  which  was  extensively 
adopted  in  France  and  other  European  countries. 
Mansard's  roof  was  devised  to  make  attics  avail- 

[34] 


The   Gambrel-Roof  House 

able  for  rooms  in  consequence  of  a  municipal  law 
limiting  the  height  of  front  walls  in  Paris,  the  idea 
being  to  keep  all  construction  within  a  semi-circle 
about  the  ends  of  the  lower  tie-beam  and  struck 
from  a  point  midway  of  its  length.  It  is  best 
described  as  a  hipped  curb  roof  having  on  all  sides 
two  slopes  unequally  inclined,  the  lower  slope  being 
steeper  than  the  upper,  hence  the  terms  "  French 
curb "  and  "  French  hip "  by  which  it  was  fre- 
quently designated.  From  a  structural  standpoint 
it  has  an  advantage  over  the  ordinary  gable  roof 
in  that  the  outward  thrust  upon  the  supporting 
walls  is  less,  the  load  coming  almost  vertically  upon 
them. 

Mansard  roofs  as  such  never  achieved  great 
favor  in  America,  although  attaining  a  certain 
vogue  as  very  unsatisfactorily  interpreted  during 
the  so-called  Victorian  period  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Nevertheless,  many  of  our  northern  early- 
settled  communities  have  a  few  more  pleasing 
eighteenth-century  examples.  The  best  in  Salem, 
the  residence  of  Honorable  Benjamin  Goodhue,  the 
first  United  States  senator  from  Essex  County,  was 
burned  in  the  great  fire  of  1914.  Benjamin  Good- 
hue was  born  in  1748  at  Number  70  Boston  Street 
in  the  same  house  where  Doctor  Henry  Wheatland, 
the  founder  of  the  Essex  Institute,  was  born  in 
181 2.  He  was  a  friend  of  Washington,  served  as 
senator  from  1796  to  1800  and  was  one  of  the  com- 

[35] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

mission  that  framed  the  first  revenue  laws  of  the 
country.  The  Clark-Morgan  house  at  Number  368 
Essex  Street  presents  somewhat  the  same  appear- 
ance from  the  street,  but  in  reality  consists  of  two 
old  gambrel-roof  structures  and  a  modern  flat-roof 
building  butted  together  to  form  a  U-shaped  ground 
plan.  In  this  house  half  a  century  ago  the  Morgan 
sisters  kept  a  Dame  school  such  as  was  so  well 
described  by  Eleanor  Putnam  in  her  book  "Old 
Salem." 

In  the  heart  of  Paris,  Mansard  roofs  were  fre- 
quently employed  on  houses  built  in  solid  blocks 
where  the  double  slope  occurred  only  at  the  front  and 
rear.  The  rebuilding  of  houses  on  adjoining  lots 
occasionally  exposed  the  cross  section  of  this  roof 
type,  and  while  the  French  apparently  gave  it  little 
thought,  American  builders  who  saw  it  were  im- 
pressed with  its  strikingly  pleasing  outline.  Ap- 
preciating the  value  of  Mansard  construction  in 
providing  extra  rooms  at  small  cost  without  re- 
course to  an  additional  story  for  the  building  proper, 
they  also  realized  that  this  flat  gable  arrangement 
gave  all  its  advantages  at  less  expense  for  labor 
than  was  involved  by  the  hipped  curb  on  all  four 
sides,  then  customary  in  the  case  of  single,  detached 
houses,  —  its  name  being  derived  from  the  resem- 
blance of  each  side  of  the  gable  contour  to  the 
gambrel  or  hock  of  a  horse. 

No  recognized  rule  was  followed  for  the  propor- 

[36] 


The    Gambrel-Roof  House 

tion  or  pitch,  but  it  was  perceived  that  unless  the 
roof  as  a  whole  were  adapted  to  the  general  size, 
height  and  character  of  the  house,  ungainliness 
might  result.  Local  color  in  the  gambrel  roof, 
therefore,  lies  in  its  shape  as  seen  from  the  end. 
In  Salem,  and  elsewhere  throughout  New  England, 
the  two  slopes  were  usually  of  about  equal  width 
and  medium  pitch,  as  distinguished  from  the  flatter 
pitches  and  wider  lower  slope  of  the  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  Dutch  roofs,  and  the  steeper  pitches 
and  wider  upper  slope  of  the  Maryland  roofs.  Nu- 
merous variants  of  the  gambrel  roof  occur  wherever 
found,  and  several  in  Salem  show  Dutch  influence, 
notably  the  Ropes'  Memorial,  which  will  be  con- 
sidered more  fully  later.  Mrs.  Cook's  house  at 
Number  i  Cambridge  Street  about  opposite  the 
Ropes'  Memorial  presents  a  fine  example  of  modern 
carpenter  work  executed  about  fifteen  years  ago, 
when  the  former  hipped  roof  was  replaced  by  the 
present  perfect  gambrel. 

While  peaked  roof  and  lean-to  houses  were  the 
typical  dwellings  of  witchcraft  times,  the  house 
that  tradition  has  most  intimately  identified  with 
the  delusion  is  now  a  gambrel-roof  structure.  This 
so-called  Witch  House  at  Number  310  Essex  Street, 
corner  of  North  Street,  received  its  name  by  reason 
of  the  fact  that  in  it  lived  Jonathan  Corwin,  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  witchcraft  court,  and  here  he  is 
said  to  have  held  some  of  the  preliminary  examina- 

[37] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

tlons  of  the  accused.  The  history  of  this  ancient 
dwelling  is  obscure  and  a  diiference  of  opinion  exists 
among  those  who  have  investigated  the  matter 
carefully.  Authoritative  sources  of  information  are 
lacking  to  establish  definitely  its  date  of  erection 
and  the  continuity  of  its  subsequent  record.  That 
it  has  undergone  alterations  and  additions  since 
first  built  which  have  changed  its  exterior  appearance 
is  certain,  and  that  it  did  hot  at  first  have  a  gambrel 
roof  is  highly  probable. 

The  overhanging  second  story  indicates  the  seven- 
teenth-century origin  of  the  present  structure.  This 
architectural  feature  long  antedated  the  gambrel 
roof,  with  which  it  is  very  rarely  found.  The  dis- 
parity of  periods  alone  would  tend  to  indicate  the 
gambrel  roof  as  a  subsequent  alteration  were  it 
not  for  the  more  conclusive  evidence  to  this  effect 
presented  by  the  large  front  chimney.  Whether 
this  house  was  built  about  1671,  as  some  antiquaries 
claim,  or  at  an  earlier  date,  the  fact  is  well  established 
that  in  1675  Jonathan  Corwin,  one  of  the  witch- 
craft judges,  bought  it  of  Captain  Richard  Daven- 
port, who,  from  1645  to  1665,  was  commander  of 
the  fort  on  Castle  Island  in  Boston  harbor.  That 
it  was  in  a  primitive  or  unfinished  condition  at  the 
time  is  indicated  by  the  work  Corwin  immediately 
contracted  with  Daniel  Andrews  to  do  for  its  im- 
provement. This  contract,  now  preserved  among 
the  Corwin  papers  at  the  Essex  Institute,  is  an  in- 

[38] 


Plate    XVIII.  —  Diman    House,  8   Hardy   Street;    The  Witch 
House,  corner  of  Essex  and  North  Streets,  as  it  appeared  in  1856. 


Plate   XIX.  —  General  Israel  Putnam's  Birthplace,  Maple  Street, 

Dan  vers.      Erected  1641  ;   Thomas  Ruck  House,  8  Mill  Street. 

Erected  before  1651. 


The   Gambr el-Roof  House 

teresting  contemporary  document  little  less  verbose 
than  builder's  contracts  of  to-day.  It  reads  as 
follows  : 

Articles  and  Covenants  made,  agreed  upon,  and 
confirmed  between  Mr.  Jonathan  Corwin,  of  Salem, 
merchant,  and  Daniel  Andrews  of  Salem,  of  the 
other  part,  concerning  a  parcell  of  worke  as  fol- 
loweth,  viz.  :  Imprimis  the  said  parcell  of  worke 
is  to  be  bestowed  in  filling,  plaistering  and  finishing 
a  certain  dwelling  house  bought  by  the  said  owner 
of  Capt.  Nath'U  Davenport  of  Boston,  and  is  situ- 
ate in  Salem  aforesaid,  towards  the  west  end  of 
the  towne  betweene  the  houses  of  Rich.  Sibley  to 
the  west  and  Deliverance  Parkman  on  the  east; 
and  is  to  be  performed  to  these  following  direc- 
tions, viz. 

I.  The  said  Daniel  Andrews  is  to  dig  and  build 
a  cellar  as  large  as  the  easterly  room  of  said  house 
will  afford  (and  in  the  said  room  according  to  the 
breadthe  and  lengthe  of  it)  not  exceeding  six  foot 
in  height;  and  to  underpin  the  porch  and  the 
remaining  part  of  the  house  not  exceeding  three 
foot  in  height;  also  to  underpin  the  kitchen  on  the 
north  side  of  the  house,  not  exceeding  one  foot; 
the  said  kitchen  being  20  foot  long  and  18  foot  wide ; 
and  to  make  steps  with  stones  into  the  cellar  in  two 
places  belonging  to  the  cellar,  together  with  stone 
steps  up  into  the  porch.  2.  For  the  chimneys  he 
is  to  take  down  the  chimneys  which  are  now  standing, 
and  to  take  and  make  up  of  the  bricks  that  are  now 
in  the  chimneys  and  the  stones  that  are  in  the  leanto 
cellar  that  now  is,  and  to  rebuild  the  said  chimneys 
with  five  fireplaces,  viz.,  two  below  and  two  in  the 
chambers  and  one  in  the  garret ;  also  to  build  one 
chimney  in  the  kitchen,  with  ovens  and  a  furnace,  not 
exceeding  five  feet  above  the  top  of  the  house.  3 .  He 
is  to  set  the  jambs  of  the  two  chamber  chimneys 

[39 1 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

and  of  the  easternmost  room  below  with  Dutch 
tiles,  the  said  owner  finding  the  tiles ;  also  to  lay  all 
the  hearths  belonging  to  the  said  house  and  to  point 
the  cellar  and  underpinning  of  sd.  house  and  so 
much  of  the  three  hearths  as  are  to  be  laid  with 
Dutch  tiles,  the  said  owner  is  to  find  them.  4.  As 
for  lathing  and  plaistering  he  is  to  lath  and  siele  the 
4  rooms  of  the  house  betwixt  the  joists  overhead 
with  a  coat  of  lime  &  haire  upon  the  clay;  also 
to  fill  the  gable  ends  of  the  house  with  bricks  and 
to  plaister  them  with  clay.  5.  To  lath  and  plaister 
partitions  of  the  house  with  clay  and  lime,  and  to 
fill,  lath  and  plaister  them  with  lime  and  hair  be- 
sides ;  and  to  siele  and  lath  them  overhead  with 
lime ;  also  to  fill  lath  and  plaister  the  kitchen  up 
to  the  wall  plate  on  every  side.  6.  The  said  Daniel 
Andrews  is  to  find  lime,  bricks,  clay,  stone,  haire, 
together  with  labourers  and  workmen  to  help  him, 
and  generally  all  materials  for  the  efi"ecting  and 
carrying  out  of  the  aforesaide  worke,  excepte  laths 
and  nailes.  7.  The  whole  work  before  mentioned 
is  to  be  done,  finished  and  performed  att  or  before 
the  last  day  of  August  next  following,  provided 
that  said  Daniel  or  any  that  work  with  him,  be 
not  lett  or  hindered  for  want  of  the  carpenter  worke. 
8.  Lastly  in  consideration  of  all  the  aforesaid  worke, 
so  finished  and  accomplished  as  is  aforesaid,  the 
aforesaid  owner  is  to  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  unto 
to  the  said  workeman,  the  summe  of  fifty  pounds 
in  money  current  in  New  England,  to  be  paid  at 
or  before  the  finishing  of  the  said  worke.  And  for 
the  true  performance  of  the  premises  we  bind  our- 
selves each  to  other,  our  heyers,  executors,  and 
administrators,  firmly  by  these  presents,  as  witnesse 
our  hands,  this  nineteenth  day  of  February,  Anno 
Domini,  1674-5. 

Jonathan  Corwin. 
Daniel  Andrews. 

[40] 


The   Gambrel-Roof  House 

Doubtless  the  principal  chimney  specified  in 
Section  2  of  the  contract  is  the  one  already  referred 
to.  Not  only  is  it  elaborately  stacked  like  those 
almost  exclusively  associated  with  the  earliest 
peaked-roof  houses  in  Salem,  but  the  present  roof 
exposes  several  inches  of  the  plastered  chimney 
below  the  brick  corbeling.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  a 
chimney  built  to  special  order  with  the  idea  of  im- 
provement would  have  been  so  constructed  as  to  fail 
to  bring  about  a  proper  meeting  of  the  exposed  brick- 
work of  the  chimney  shaft  with  the  roof  as  it  existed  at 
the  time.  Rather,  it  is  more  likely  that  at  some 
later  time  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  former 
gable  roof  was  arbitrarily  remodeled  to  the  pre- 
vailing gambrel  mode  regardless  of  the  appearance 
of  the  chimney.  There  is  a  tradition  that  this 
alteration  took  place  in  1746. 

This  house  continued  in  the  possession  of  the 
descendants  of  Jonathan  Corwin  until  sold  to  Doctor 
G.  P.  Farrington  in  1856.  The  interior  and  chimney 
remain  much  the  same  as  in  1692,  but  the  exterior 
is  now  defaced  by  a  modern  drug  store  nearly  half 
the  width  of  the  original  house  and  extending  from 
it  to  the  sidewalk  in  front.  From  this  store  one 
passes  into  the  house  through  an  arch  in  the  great 
chimney  which  is  about  eight  by  twelve  feet  at  the 
first  floor. 

Architecturally  the  house  at  Number  8  Hardy 
Street,    now    remodeled   beyond    recognition,    is    of 

[41] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

interest  chiefly  as  the  only  example  of  the  gambrel- 
gable  overhang  remaining  in  Salem  at  the  time  the 
accompanying  photograph  was  made.  Like  many 
of  the  early  houses  it  stood  end  to  the  street,  yet 
the  gambrel  extending  directly  along  the  street 
did  not  conform  to  the  customary  arrangement. 
The  cornice  was  perhaps  the  oldest  in  Salem  and 
the  wide  spacing  of  the  dentils  recalls  the  fact 
that  the  primitive  cornice  was  simply  an  overhang 
with  the  ends  of  the  rafters  showing.  One  notices 
the  fenestartion  immediately,  not  only  because  of 
the  quaint  sashes  with  twenty-four  small  panes  to 
each  window,  but  on  account  of  the  peculiar  spacing 
of  the  windows  without  attempt  at  symmetry  or 
balance.  The  effect  seems  to  express  something 
of  the  ingenuous  and  stubborn  character  of  those 
sturdy  people  who  braved  the  perils  of  a  virgin 
land  for  the  pursuit  of  religious  freedom  and  personal 
liberty.  Possibly  this  thought  arises  from  the  fact 
that  this  old  house  was  the  home  of  Reverend  James 
Diman,  pastor  of  the  Second  or  East  Church,  from 
1737  until  1788,  and  the  predecessor  of  Reverend 
William  Bentley,  the  historian,  whose  diary  has 
established  so  many  interesting  facts  in  the  history 
of  Salem. 

In  its  U-shaped  arrangement  with  wings  of  unequal 
length  and  virtually  three  gambrel-roof  dwellings 
in  one,  the  Ruck  house.  Number  8  Mill  Street, 
has  few  if  any  parallels    in   American  architecture. 

[42] 


The   Gamhr el-Roof  House 

The  oldest  part,  at  the  northwest  corner  where  the 
large  chimney  stands,  was  built  by  Thomas  Ruck 
and  dates  back  to  before  165 1.  Each  of  the  several 
subsequent  additions,  however,  has  preserved  the 
high,  narrow  proportions  of  the  original  structure 
characteristic  of  many  seventeenth-century  build- 
ings. In  175 1  the  old  part  was  bought  by  Joseph 
Mclntire,  a  joiner  and  the  father  of  Samuel  Mcln- 
tire,  the  famous  architect  of  Salem,  of  whom  much 
more  in  another  chapter.  It  was  during  the  occu- 
pancy of  the  elder  Mclntire  that  he  built  the  house 
next  door  at  the  corner  of  Mill  and  Norman  streets 
where  Samuel  was  born  on  January  16,  1757. 

When  Joseph  Mclntire  moved  into  his  new  home 
in  1754  he  sold  the  old  part  of  the  Ruck  house  to 
Samuel  Bacon,  owner  of  the  new  part,  and  during 
the  latter's  ownership  Richard  Cranch,  a  watch- 
maker and  local  justice,  occupied  it  in  1766  and 
1767.  Cranch  and  John  Adams,  afterwards  second 
President  of  the  United  States,  married  sisters, 
and  so  it  happened  that,  as  a  young  lawyer  riding 
the  eastern  circuit,  Adams  more  than  once  stopped 
in  the  house.  In  his  journal  under  date  of  November 
3,  1766,  he  wrote  that  "Cranch  is  now  in  a  good 
situation  for  business,  near  the  Court  House  .  .  .  his 
house,  fronting  on  the  wharves,  the  harbor  and  the 
shipping,  has  a  fine  prospect  before  it." 

After  Cranch  moved  to  Boston  in  1767  John  Sin- 
gleton Copley,  the  celebrated  English  artist,  became 

[  43  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

a  tenant  of  the  house  while  painting  portraits  of 
leading  Salem  citizens.  To  it  he  brought  his  infant 
son,  afterwards  Baron  Lyndhurst,  Lord  Chan- 
cellor of  England.  Being  in  sympathy  with  the 
crown,  however,  the  family  left  America  in  1774. 

At  Number  27  Union  Street  stands  a  cottage 
almost  devoid  of  architectural  appeal ;  a  structure 
too  nearly  square  to  possess  charm  of  proportion 
and  now  still  further  defaced  by  an  inappropriate 
modern  door  and  windows,  although  inside  it  has 
been  changed  but  little.  Its  claim  to  notice  lies 
in  the  fact  that  on  the  patriotic  day  of  July  4,  1804, 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  the  famous  American  novel- 
ist, was  born  in  the  northwest,  or  left-hand  chamber 
of  the  second  story.  The  house  was  built  in  1680 
by  one  of  the  several  Salem  men  who  have  borne  the 
name  of  Benjamin  Pickman  and  in  1772  came  into 
the  possession  of  Hawthorne's  grandfather. 

Another  gambrel-roof  cottage  in  which  Haw- 
thorne lived  from  1828  to  1832  has  only  slight 
architectural  value.  It  was  originally  built  for 
Hawthorne's  mother  by  her  brother  on  land  ad- 
joining the  present  Manning  homestead,  but  was 
afterward  sold  and  moved  across  the  street  where 
it  now  stands  numbered  26  Dearborn  Street.  The 
upward  lift  of  the  roof  at  the  eaves  shows  the  in- 
fluence of  Dutch  work  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  while  the  high  position  of  the  dormers  just 
beneath  the  curb  characterizes  frequent  New  Eng- 

[44] 


Plate    XX. Nathaniel    Hawthorne's    Birthplace,   21    Union 

Street.  Erected  1680;  Hawthorne's  Home  from  1828  to  1832. 


Platk   XXI. —  Eighteenth  Century  Addition  to  the  Putnam  House ; 
The  room  in  which  General  Israel  Putnam  was  born. 


The   Gamhrel-Roof  House 

land  practice.  Although  simple  and  attractive  in 
itself,  the  pedimental  inclosed  entrance  porch,  with 
blind-shaded  side  lights,  is  on  too  heavy  a  scale 
to  accord  with  the  house. 

Located  at  Number  431  Maple  Street,  near  the 
Newburyport  Turnpike  in  Danvers,  is  the  birthplace 
of  General  Israel  Putnam,  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent Revolutionary  leaders.  It  has  a  peculiar 
interest  for  the  student  of  architecture  in  that  it 
combines  gable  and  gambrel  roofs  and  has  the 
uncommon  lean-to  across  the  gable  end  of  the 
original  main  house,  the  eighteenth-century  gambrel- 
roof  addition  being  across  the  other  end.  The  older 
part  of  the  house  was  built  by  General  Putnam's 
grandfather.  Lieutenant  Thomas  Putnam,  probably 
soon  after  the  grant  of  the  fifty  acres  of  land  on 
which  it  stands  had  been  made  to  him  in  1641. 
Thomas  was  the  son  of  the  immigrant  John,  one  of 
the  Puttenham  family  from  Aston  Abbots,  Bucks 
County,  England.  After  the  death  of  Thomas  and 
his  wife  this  ancient  house  came  into  the  possession 
of  Joseph,  the  father  of  the  general.  Here  many  a 
Putnam  has  come  into  the  world  and  lived,  and  in 
a  small  room  over  the  inclosed  porch  on  the  side, 
General  Israel  Putnam  was  born  January  7,  1718. 
This  low-studded  room  with  its  whitewashed  summer 
beams,  batten  doors,  primitive  fireplace,  quaint 
wall  paper,  faded  old  prints  and  antique  furniture 
still  retains  the  atmosphere  of  bygone  days.     The 

[45] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

eighteenth-century  gambrel-roof  addition,  beyond 
the  monster  willow  planted  by  a  Putnam  slave,  was 
erected  by  Colonel  David  Putnam,  son  of  Joseph 
and  a  brother  of  Israel.  Exteriorly  it  differs  from 
the  early  type  of  New  England  gambrel-roof  struc- 
ture without  dormers  only  in  its  inclosed  entrance 
porch  with  almost  flat  balustraded  roof,  and  this 
porch  was  probably  a  later  addition.  Within,  the 
rooms  are  spacious  and  have  great  fireplaces  as 
indicated  by  the  sturdy  chimney. 

Here  General  Putnam  lived  until  his  marriage 
shortly  after  which,  in  1740,  he  moved  to  Connecti- 
cut, where  he  was  living  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution.  Upon  receiving  news  of  the  fighting 
at  Lexington  and  Concord  he  left  his  plough  in  the 
furrow  and  hastened  to  Cambridge,  where  he  was 
made  a  major-general  by  Washington  after  the 
latter  took  command  of  the  army.  The  tale  of 
how  "Old  Put"  galloped  down  the  stone  steps  is 
still  told  in  Connecticut,  and  his  distinguished 
career  throughout  the  war  was  little  less  spectacular. 
But  the  Putnams  of  Massachusetts  served  their 
country  quite  as  gallantly  if  less  conspicuously. 
Seventy-five  Putnams,  more  men  than  from  any 
other  family,  responded  to  the  call  on  April  19, 
1775,  and  it  is  believed  that  this  family  also  gave 
more  men  to  the  Union  Army  in  the  Civil  War  than 
did  any  other. 

While,  as  already  recounted,  many  of  the-  first 

[46] 


The   Gambrel-Roof  House 

gambrel-roof  houses  came  into  being  as  additions 
to  existing  gable-roof  and  lean-to  structures,  and 
were  for  the  most  part  without  dormers  and  devoid 
of  architectural  embellishment  either  of  doorway 
or  exterior  trim,  toward  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  there  began  to  be  built  original  residences 
more  pretentious  than  had  been  the  average  hitherto. 
Merchant  shipowners  and  sea  captains  were  ac- 
cumulating fortunes  made  in  trade  with  the  West 
Indies,  England,  France,  Holland,  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal, large  families  were  the  rule,  and  a  more 
generous  scale  of  living  called  for  town  houses  of 
ample  proportions,  with  numerous  rooms.  The  in- 
fluence of  Georgian  architecture  in  the  mother 
country  was  beginning  to  be  felt,  and  it  is  known 
that  in  those  days  the  New  England  carpenter- 
builders  had  for  ready  reference  little  books  of 
measured  drawings  with  excellent  details.  "The 
Country  Builder's  Assistant"  by  Asher  Benjamin 
was  such  a  volume.  These  builder's  assistants  and 
similar  publications  are  the  real  explanation  of  the 
many  charming  old  Colonial  buildings  with  their 
excellent  details,  and  may  rightly  be  regarded  as 
the  fountain  head  of  Colonial  design. 

The  Lindall-Barnard-Andrews  house.  Number  393 
Essex  Street,  erected  in  1747,  typifies  these  spacious 
gambrel-roof  houses  with  ranging  windows,  well- 
proportioned  pedimental  doorways  and  roofs  pierced 
by    three   dormers    and   two   or   three    great   brick 

[47] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

chimneys.  Built  by  Timothy  Lindall,  a  man  prom- 
inent in  the  political  life  of  Salem  and  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Deputies  in  1720  and  1721,  this 
comfortable  old  dwelling  was  in  Revolutionary 
times  the  home  of  the  Reverend  Thomas  Barnard, 
pastor  of  the  old  North  Church,  who  averted  blood- 
shed during  the  first  armed  resistance  to  British 
tyranny  on  Sunday,  February  26,  1775.  Dismiss- 
ing his  congregation  in  response  to  the  urgent 
summons  of  a  messenger,  he  hastened  to  the 
North  Bridge  in  the  role  of  peacemaker,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  persuading  the  townspeople 
to  lower  the  draw  and  permit  the  British  troops 
to  cross  in  their  fruitless  search  for  cannon,  which, 
meantime,  had  been  transferred  to  a  new  hiding 
place. 

The  Orne-Ropes  house.  Number  318  Essex  Street, 
erected  in  1719  and  now  known  as  the  Ropes'  Me- 
morial, presents  in  several  respects  the  most  effec- 
tive Provincial  residence  in  Salem.  It  was  oc- 
cupied by  the  Ropes  family  for  several  generations 
and  contains  a  splendid  collection  of  furniture, 
family  portraits,  Nanking  china  and  Russian  glass 
accumulated  by  its  various  owners.  In  1768  it 
came  into  the  possession  of  Honorable  Nathaniel 
Ropes,  Judge  of  the  Probate  and  Superior  courts, 
and  was  thereafter  occupied  by  a  Nathaniel  Ropes 
until  the  death  of  the  fifth  Nathaniel  in  1893.  Judge 
Ropes  was  a  loyalist  and  his  death  on  March  18, 

[48] 


The   Gamhrel-Roof  House 

1774,  was  probably  hastened  by  the  attack  of  a 
mob  of  patriots  while  he  lay  ill  there  the  previous 
day. 

Under  the  wills  of  Mary  Pickman  Ropes  and 
Eliza  Orne  Ropes,  the  last  owners,  the  Ropes'  Me- 
morial was  established  in  191 2  with  an  incorporated 
board  of  trustees.  An  ample  maintenance  fund 
insures  the  perpetuation  of  the  house  and  a  beautiful 
formal  garden  in  the  rear,  both  of  which  are  open 
to  visitors  at  frequent  stated  times  from  May  to 
December,  thus  aifording  an  exceptional  oppor- 
tunity to  view  a  typical  home  of  a  prosperous  family 
in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Architecturally  the  house  reflects  Dutch  influence 
in  the  outline  of  its  gambrel  roof;  and  the  balus- 
trade about  its  upper  slopes,  after  the  manner  of 
the  decked  roofs  of  a  later  period,  at  once  draws 
attention  to  a  picturesque  feature  of  many  of  the 
later  gambrel-roof  houses  intended  to  provide 
ornamentation  of  a  refined  character.  This,  like 
the  beautiful  recessed  Ionic  doorway,  dating  about 
1805,  was  doubtless  of  more  recent  date  than  the 
house,  although  of  exceptional  simplicity  as  con- 
trasted with  the  balustrade  on  the  roof  of  "The 
Lindens",  for  instance.  The  accompanying  photo- 
graph shows  the  house  as  it  originally  stood  close 
to  the  sidewalk.  In  1894,  however,  it  was  moved 
back  many  feet  and  the  beautiful  fence  and  carved 
gateposts   illustrated   in   the   chapter  on   entrances 

[49] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

and  doorways  were  erected.  A  large  L  was  con- 
structed in  the  rear  and  other  changes  were  made. 

Occasionally  the  rear  half  of  a  gambrel-roof 
house  was  extended  several  feet  beyond  the  front 
half,  as  had  often  been  the  earlier  lean-to,  forming 
a  "jut-by"  to  provide  a  side  door  facing  front. 

The  Derby-Ward  house,  Number  27  Herbert 
Street,  erected  in  1738,  is  an  instance  that  well 
exemplifies  the  first  and  plainer  type  of  large  gambrel- 
roof  residences  that  were  built  by  ship  owners  and 
sea  captains  with  the  proceeds  of  their  venturous 
sea  voyages.  The  eighteen-paned  windows  and  the 
simple  boxed  cornice  are  characteristic  of  the  time, 
and  one  notes  the  returns  on  the  gable  ends,  which 
had  not  been  employed  previous  to  about  this  date. 
The  double  verge  board,  a  plain  narrow  strip  at 
the  outside  upper  edge  of  the  board  proper,  was  the 
forerunner  of  the  moldings  of  later  years.  Early 
cornices  had  no  gutters  and  the  flagstones  laid  in 
the  ground  below  were  provided  to  catch  and  dis- 
tribute the  drip.  The  pedimental,  inclosed  en- 
trance porch,  with  its  pilaster  corner  treatment  and 
oval  side  lights,  may  have  been  added  at  a  later 
date.  As  in  many  other  houses  of  the  time  a  large 
chimney  rose  through  the  ridge  eight  or  ten  feet 
from  each  end,  so  placed  as  to  locate  fireplaces 
midway  of  inside  lengthwise  walls  of  the  house  in 
rooms  each  side  of  the  central  hall. 

This  house  was  erected  in  1738  by  Richard  Derby, 

[so] 


Plate  XXIL  —  Lindall-Barnard-Andrews   House,  393   Essex  Street. 

Erected  1747;   Derby- Ward  House,  birthplace  of  Elias  Hasket 

Derby.     Corner  of  Herbert  and  Derby  Streets.     Erected  1738. 


Plate   XXIII. —  Garden  of  the  Ropes  Memorial,  318  Essex  Street. 
Laid  Out  1913;  Ropes  Memorial,  3 1 8  Essex  Street.     Erected  1 7 1 9. 


The   Gambrel-Roof  House 

a  prosperous  sea  captain  and  shipowner,  delegate 
to  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  the  father  of  Elias 
Hasket  Derby,  Salem's  greatest  merchant,  who  was 
born  here  in  1739.  Richard  Derby  owned  part  of 
the  cannon  sought  by  Colonel  Leslie's  troops  during 
the  first  armed  resistance  to  British  tyranny  at  the 
North  Bridge  on  February  26,  1775,  two  months 
before  Paul  Revere's  immortal  ride ;  and  he  it  was 
who,  when  importuned  to  use  his  influence  to  have 
them  given  up,  boldly  replied  to  Leslie's  messenger  : 
"If  he  can  find  them,  he  may  take  them."  Nor 
were  they  taken,  for  the  Reverend  Thomas  Barnard 
intervened,  preventing  a  serious  clash  as  already 
recounted,  and  General  Gage  later  reported  to  his 
government  that  he  had  been  misled  and  that  the 
guns  did  not  exist.  This  old  house  was  afterwards 
sold  by  the  Derbys,  became  the  residence  of  Miles 
Ward,  a  prominent  citizen,  and  was  occupied  by 
members  of  his  family  as  late  as  1837. 

During  Nathaniel  Hawthorne's  residence  near  by 
in  the  house  at  Numbers  io|^  and  12  Herbert  Street 
he  was  on  very  friendly  terms  with  the  family  of 
a  relative  then  occupying  the  Derby-Ward  house, 
and  frequently  he  ate  and  slept  there  in  one  of  the 
spacious  chambers  reserved  for  him.  In  this  room 
and  in  a  little  summer  house  among  the  lilacs  and 
syringas,  shaded  by  an  old  apple  tree  of  the  garden, 
he  wrote  some  of  his  earliest  stories. 

Another  gambrel-roof  residence  built  by  Richard 

[51] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Derby  in  1761  at  Number  168  Derby  Street,  and 
said  by  Felt  in  his  "Annals  of  Salem"  to  have  been 
intended  for  Derby's  son,  Elias  Hasket  Derby, 
who  had  been  married  at  about  that  time,  is  the 
oldest  brick  house  now  standing  in  Salem.  The 
first  brick  house  of  which  there  is  any  record,  erected 
in  1700,  was  mentioned  in  1707  as  having  been  built 
for  Benjamin  Mars  ton  by  George  Cabot,  a  Boston 
mason,  at  the  corner  of  Crombie  and  Essex  streets. 
It  had  freestone  capitals  on  its  front  corners  and 
was  considered  "an  elegant  edifice  for  its  day", 
but  after  occupying  it  for  a  time  Marston's  wife 
persuaded  him  to  have  it  pulled  down  because  she 
supposed  it  was  damp  and  injurious  to  health,  a 
circumstance  which  for  several  years  created  a  strong 
prejudice  in  Salem  against  brick  construction. 

Except  for  the  gambrel  roof,  which  never  found 
favor  in  England,  the  Derby  house  is  distinctly  of 
Georgian  character.  One  notes  first  of  all  the  classic 
doorway  with  wood  detail  worked  out  in  the  spirit 
of  carved  marble,  but  the  window  frames,  the  closely 
spaced  molded  dentils  of  the  box  cornice  and  the 
dormers  with  gable  and  segmental  roofs  interspersed, 
all  denote  the  same  influence  in  design.  The  belief 
that  a  more  even  distribution  of  heat  from  fire- 
places was  effected  by  locating  them  on  outside 
walls  led  to  the  adoption  in  large  houses  such  as 
this  of  four  chimneys  in  pairs  at  each  end  where 
they  became  part  of  the  structural  walls,  their  outer 

[52] 


The   Gambrel-Roof  House 

sides  being  flush  with  them.  This  picturesque 
gable  construction  soon  became  a  distinctive  fea- 
ture of  the  brick  Provincial  house.  A  feature  of 
Georgian  brickwork,  too,  is  seen  in  the  projecting 
band  at  the  level  of  the  second  floor,  which,  cor- 
responding with  the  water  table  or  projecting  under- 
pinning, served  to  emphasize  the  stories. 

Not  only  is  the  Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood  house, 
Number  314  Essex  street,  erected  in  1773,  an  es- 
pecially excellent  example  of  the  gambrel-roof  house 
of  wood  with  single  large  chimneys  symmetrically 
placed  toward  each  end,  but  in  its  doorways  it 
presents  a  particularly  successful  instance  of  adap- 
tation from  the  Richard  Derby  house.  The  door- 
way has  the  same  pedimental  head  and  fluted  pi- 
lasters and  the  same  rustication  of  the  jambs.  It 
difl"ers,  however,  in  being  a  recessed  entrance,  and 
as  it  is  narrower,  with  a  single  door,  —  then  being 
used  for  the  most  part,  —  the  pediment  is  properly 
more  steeply  pitched. 

Brick  and  stone  were  little  used  in  New  England 
as  building  materials  until  about  the  dawn  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Few  bricks  were  imported 
except  in  the  South.  Clay  was  plentiful  in  the 
North,  and  even  though  the  product  at  first  was 
crude,  it  answered.  Corner  boards  in  the  spirit 
of  marble  quoins  were  frequently  employed  with 
clapboarded  walls,  however,  to  give  a  more 
substantial   appearance.     The   Cabot-Endicott-Low 

[53] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

house,  Number  365  Essex  Street,  is  a  notable  case 
in  point.  Erected  in  1748  by  Joseph  Cabot  after 
the  design  of  an  English  architect,  who  is  also  said 
to  have  been  the  architect  of  the  Benjamin  Pickman 
house,  the  "King"  Hooper  house  at  Marblehead 
and  the  Hooper-Collins  house,  now  known  as  "The 
Lindens",  at  Danvers,  it  remains  to-day  one  of 
the  finest  Provincial  residences  in  New  England,  al- 
though the  doorway  is  of  recent  origin.  Five 
closely  spaced  dormers  pierce  the  roof  and  light 
the  upper-floor  rooms  so  that  three  stories  are 
available  in  virtually  a  two-story  house.  As  was 
frequently  the  case,  the  gable-roof  dormers  were 
symmetrically  placed  with  the  central  dormer  having 
a  segmental  rather  than  triangular  pediment. 
Hipped  and  lean-to  dormers,  seen  elsewhere,  never 
won  favor  in  Salem.  Here  again  the  paired  chimneys 
at  the  ends  of  the  house,  in  this  instance  within 
the  wooden  walls,  become  conspicuous  features  of 
the  roof  line.  The  verge  boards,  the  curb  or  coam- 
ing retaining  the  upper  slope  of  the  roof,  and  the 
gutter  are  all  molded,  and  the  door  and  window 
trim  throughout  shows  Georgian  influence. 

This  handsome  mansion,  noted  for  its  fine  interior 
woodwork,  was  for  many  years  the  home  of  Joseph 
S.  Cabot,  mayor  of  Salem  from  1845  to  1848  in- 
clusive. Later  it  was  for  thirty  years  the  residence 
of  Honorable  William  Crowninshield  Endicott,  a 
justice  of  the  Massachusetts  Supreme  Court  from 

[54] 


Plate  XXIV.  —  Richard  Derby  House,  i68   Derby  Street.      Erected 
1761  ;   Gambrel  Gable  and  Chimneys,  Richard  Derby  House. 


Plate  XXV.  —  Cabot-Endicott-Low  House,   365   Essex    Street. 

Erected  1748;  Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood  House,  314  Essex  Street. 

Erected  1773. 


The   Gambr el-Roof  House 

1873  to  1882,  and  Secretary  of  War  in  President 
Cleveland's  cabinet  from  1885  to  1889.  Here  he 
entertained  that  eminent  English  statesman,  the 
Right  Honorable  Joseph  Chamberlain,  who  married 
his  daughter,  Mary,  in  1888;  also  General  William 
T.  Sherman  in  1890.  More  recently,  until  his 
death,  the  house  has  been  owned  and  occupied  by 
Daniel  Low,  a  silversmith  of  national  reputation. 
The  garden  has  continued  to  be  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  in  Salem. 

The  introduction  of  quoined  corners  to  wood 
houses  led  in  a  few  instances  to  the  adoption  as 
the  wall  covering  of  the  facade  of  siding  worked  with 
beveled  edges  and  vertical  scorings,  the  latter 
being  so  placed  as  to  simulate  the  bonding  of  cut 
stone,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Hooper-Collins  house, 
at  the  end  of  Collins  Street,  Danvers.  Suitable 
painting  lent  realism  to  the  effect,  the  siding  proper 
being  gray,  while  the  quoins  and  keyed  lintels  were 
white  in  the  spirit  of  marble  and  the  bond  scorings 
also,  to  approximate  the  appearance  of  mortar 
joints.  An  additional  elaboration  of  a  refined  char- 
acter is  provided  by  the  pitched  gable,  with  its  oval- 
topped  window,  in  the  lower  slope  of  the  roof,  the 
whole  being  supported  by  two  well-proportioned 
and  nicely  executed  engaged  columns  of  Corinthian 
order;  also  by  an  ornamental  balustrade  with 
handsomely  turned  balusters  and  newels  surrounding 
the  upper  slope  of  the  roof.     The  gable  takes  the 

[55] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

place  of  a  central  dormer,  often  more  elaborate 
than  the  others.  Of  the  two  dormers  each  side 
of  it  those  with  broken  segmental  pediments  have 
properly  been  made  the  inner  pair. 

Few  Provincial  houses  in  New  England  contain 
so  much  splendid  interior  woodwork  in  as  good  a 
state  of  preservation.  The  hall  and  stairway,  il- 
lustrated and  described  in  Chapter  IX,  evidently 
inspired  the  architect  of  the  Jeremiah  Lee  mansion 
in  Marblehead,  erected  in  1768,  for  the  general 
scheme  is  identical,  though  on  a  larger  scale  and 
with  variations  in  detail  here  and  there. 

This  beautiful  country  residence,  which  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  to  the  John  Hancock  mansion 
which  formerly  stood  on  Beacon  Street,  Boston, 
near  the  State  House,  was  erected  in  1754  by  Robert 
Hooper,  a  wealthy  Marblehead  merchant  commonly 
called  "King"  Hooper  because  of  his  Tory  pro- 
clivities. Strictly  speaking  this  house  finds  no 
logical  place  in  a  Salem  book,  as  Danvers  was  set 
off  from  Salem  in  1752,  but  its  resemblances  to  and 
close  association  with  two  prominent  Salem  houses 
already  mentioned  seem  to  permit  this  single  digres- 
sion into  the  architecture  of  Greater  Salem.  In 
1774  General  Thomas  Gage  occupied  this  house  as 
a  summer  residence  just  after  he  had  been  appointed 
Military  Governor  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
by  the  King.  In  the  field  opposite  during  this  time 
were  encamped  two  companies  of  Colonel  Leslie's 

[56] 


The   Gambrel'Roof  House 

sixty-fourth  British  regiment  which  figured  in  the 
North  Bridge  episode  of  February  26,  1775,  already 
detailed.  More  recently,  as  the  home  of  Francis 
Peabody,  a  warm  personal  friend  of  the  late  J. 
Pierpont  Morgan,  the  estate  has  been  known  as 
"The  Lindens."  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  John 
Endecott,  the  first  English  governor  under  the 
Colonial  charter,  and  Thomas  Gage,  the  last  English 
governor  under  the  Provincial  charter,  should  both 
have  resided  in  Danvers,  and  that  Endecott  once 
owned  the  land  upon  which  both  residences  were 
situated. 

The  Benjamin  Pickman  house,  in  the  rear  of 
Number  165  Essex  Street,  erected  in  1743,  was  of 
very  similar  character.  Although  still  standing  it  has 
been  partly  concealed  by  stores  in  front  of  it.  The 
interior  has  also  been  despoiled  of  its  beautiful 
woodwork  characteristic  of  pre-Revolutionary  tend- 
encies and  of  especial  interest  because  of  the  carved 
and  gilded  codfish  on  each  stair  end,  indicating  the 
source  of  the  owner's  wealth.  One  of  these  carved 
fishes  may  be  seen  in  the  museum  of  the  Essex 
Institute,  however,  and  the  arch  with  fluted  columns 
between  that  room  and  the  picture  gallery  was  taken 
from  the  Pickman  house.  About  1800  Samuel 
Mclntire  added  a  unique  inclosed  porch  with  hand- 
carved  detail  which  still  remains,  although  an  in- 
appropriate modern  door  has  been  substituted  for 
the  original. 

-       [S7l 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Several  distinguished  men  were  entertained  here, 
notably  Governor  Pownall  on  October  22,  1757; 
Count  Castiglioni  on  June  23,  1784,  and  Alexander 
Hamilton  on  June  20,  1800. 

Among  the  other  gambrel-roof  houses  still  stand- 
ing and  of  interest,  either  for  architectural  merit 
or  historic  association,  may  be  mentioned  the 
Hodges-Webb-Meek  house,  Number  81  Essex  Street, 
erected  before  1802;  the  Derby  mansion.  Number 
140  Lafayette  Street;  the  Eden-Brown  house, 
corner  of  Broad  and  Summer  streets,  erected  in 
1762;  the  John  Crowninshield  house,  Essex  Street, 
opposite  Union  Street,  in  which  the  Reverend 
William  Bentley,  the  historian,  lived  at  one  time ; 
the  house  in  which  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  the  eminent 
mathematician,  was  born  March  26,  1773,  in  Kimball 
Court  to  which  it  was  moved  from  Brown  Street; 
the  house  of  Lieutenant  Benjamin  West,  erected 
in  1753  at  the  corner  of  North  and  Lynde  streets, 
its  original  owner  being  the  only  Salem  man  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill ;  the  Lindall-Gibbs- 
Osgood  house.  Number  314  Essex  Street,  erected 
in  1773,  where  Benjamin  Thompson,  afterward 
Count  Rumford,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Bavarian 
army,  lived  as  a  boy  and  made  some  of  his  early 
experiments.  Rumford  ovens,  invented  by  this 
eminent  scientist  and  author,  are  to  be  found  in 
several  of  the  larger  old  mansions  of  Salem,  a  few 
of  them  even  now  finding  occasional  use. 

[58] 


Plate   XXVI. Benjamin  Pickman  Mansion  as  it  looked  prior 

to  1850.      Erected  1 750.      From  an  Old  Lithograph;  "The 
Lindens,"  Collins  Street,  Danvers.     Erected  1754. 


/U^y-^y^    /j  y_.^/L  y^;   ^    :^h.<Ju^     ^  ^ 


(<^>>^i^ 


^ 


Plate   XXVIl. —  Piclcman-Derby-Brookhouse  Estate,  70  Wash- 
ington Street.      Erected  1764.      Razed  J  915  ;   Stearns  House, 
384  Essex  Street.      Erected  1776. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   SQUARE  THREE-STORY  WOOD  HOUSE 

WITH  the  entrance  of  Massachusetts  Into 
statehood  in  1780,  the  year  previous  to 
the  British  defeat  at  Yorktown,  which  practically 
ended  the  Revolutionary  War,  another  change  oc- 
curred in  the  domestic  architecture  of  Salem.  During 
the  early  years  of  the  Commonwealth  the  square 
three-story  wood  house  with  its  foreshortened  third 
story  became  the  prevailing  Salem  residence.  At 
first  of  wood  with  clapboarded  walls,  or  occasionally 
with  rusticated  boarding  to  simulate  cut  stone, 
and  later  of  brick  with  granite  trim,  this  type  of 
Salem  town  house  persisted  until  shortly  after  1818, 
at  about  which  time  the  spirit  of  the  Greek  Revival 
supplanted  Colonial  building  traditions,  and  houses 
began  to  resemble  the  temples  of  ancient  Hellas. 
Nothing  quite  like  these  substantial  square  man- 
sions occurs  In  American  domestic  architecture 
outside  of  New  England,  and  nowhere  In  such  number 
and  perfection  as  in  Salem,  for  they  exhibit  the 
ablest  skill  of  our  early  native  wood-carvers  In  its 
very  flower.  Strictly  speaking  they  are  only  remotely 
Colonial,  but  reflect  the  broad  outlook,  the  optimistic 

[59] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

spirit  and  the  excellent  taste  of  the  early  years  of  the 
republic. 

Devoid  of  that  picturesqueness  of  mass  and 
outline  which  had  given  distinction  to  the  peaked- 
roof  lean-to  and  gambrel-roof  houses  of  earlier 
times,  these  post-Revolutionary  mansions  never- 
theless surpassed  them  all  in  refinement  of  orna- 
mental detail.  They  possessed  a  certain  appealing 
architectural  stateliness,  and  as  large  town  houses 
on  sites  necessarily  somewhat  restricted  in  area 
they  were  eminently  practical.  Square,  boxlike 
structures,  as  a  whole  monotonous  by  reason  of 
their  broad,  high  facades,  low-pitched,  inconspicuous 
hip  roofs  and  many  ranging  windows,  they  were 
notable  for  the  elegance  of  their  interior  woodwork 
rather  than  general  outward  appearance,  and  in  this 
respect  attained  the  pinnacle  of  achievement  in  the 
woodworkers'  art  of  Salem.  Here  and  there,  how- 
ever, the  remarkable  craftsmanship  of  the  time 
asserted  itself  upon  the  exterior,  and  occasionally 
genuine  distinction  and  even  rare  beauty  were 
imparted  to  these  unprepossessing  structures  through 
the  agency  of  entrance  porches  and  gateways,  door 
and  window  heads,  pilasters  and  quoined  corner 
treatments,  balustraded  belvederes  and  deck  roofs. 

For  the  most  part  these  mansions  were  built  by 
merchants  or  ship  captains,  since  they  or  their 
families  felt  the  need  of  an  elevated  place  from  which 
to  watch  for  the  return  of  the  latest  "venture."  The 

[60] 


The   Square    Three- Story    Wood  House 

belvedere  was  but  a  modification  of  the  cupola,  that 
feature  so  common  to  the  early  architecture  of  New- 
England  seacoast  towns,  while  the  deck  roof,  sur- 
rounded by  a  balustrade  along  the  eaves  of  the 
entire  main  house,  followed  the  adoption  of  very  flat 
hip  roofs  and  the  better  appreciation  of  the  balus- 
trade as  an  architectural  embellishment. 

Probably  the  best  example  of  the  cupola  in  Salem 
still  exists,  although  the  Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse 
mansion  at  Number  70  Washington  Street,  on  the 
roof  of  which  it  originally  stood,  was  razed  in  191 5 
to  make  way  for  the  new  Masonic  Temple  referred 
to  at  length  in  Chapter  XII.  This  house  was  built 
in  1764,  for  Benjamin  Pickman,  Jr.,  a  wealthy 
merchant,  replacing  the  large  wooden  house  of  the 
Reverend  Nicholas  Noyes,  pastor  of  the  First  Church 
at  the  time  of  the  witchcraft  delusion  and  very 
rabid  in  the  witch  trials  of  1692.  Later  it  became 
the  residence  of  Elias  Hasket  Derby,  who  occupied 
it  during  the  best  years  of  his  life  until,  in  1799  and 
shortly  before  his  death,  he  moved  into  his  eighty- 
thousand-dollar  mansion  designed  by  Mclntire  and 
to  which  further  reference  is  made  in  Chapter  XI. 
John  Rogers  the  sculptor  was  born  in  this  house, 
October  30,  1829.  Although  the  house  was  of  brick, 
Mclntire  added  a  front  of  rusticated  boarding, 
heavy  Ionic  corner  pilasters,  the  balustrade  of  the 
roof,  the  cupola  and  the  stable,  all  of  wood,  during 
Derby's  occupancy.    When  the  buildings  were  razed 

[61] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

in  191 5,  the  cupola  was  moved  to  the  garden  of  the 
Essex  Institute,  where  it  may  now  be  seen.  Its 
sculptured  eagle  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  original, 
hand  carved  by  Mclntire  and  now  preserved  at  the 
Brookhouse  estate  in  Marblehead.  On  the  arched 
ceiling  of  the  cupola  a  fresco  by  Corne  depicted  the 
several  vessels  of  the  Derby  fleet,  and  in  the  blind 
of  one  of  the  windows  a  hole  was  left  through  which 
a  telescope  could  be  pointed  to  watch  for  ships. 
The  festooned  drapery  on  the  stable  was  transferred 
by  Mr.  John  Robinson,  director  of  the  Peabody 
Museum,  to  the  stable  adjoining  his  residence  at 
Number   18   Summer  Street. 

While  the  houses  of  this  period  are  commonly 
referred  to  as  being  square,  three-story  structures, 
fully  as  many  were  of  oblong  shape,  some  with  a 
long,  others  with  a  short  side  fronting  on  the  street. 
As  a  rule  an  L  at  the  rear,  or  rarely  a  wing  at  the 
side,  provided  the  service  rooms.  Hipped  roofs, 
with  or  without  a  surrounding  belvedere,  prevailed, 
yet  there  is  here  and  there  to  be  seen  a  house  having 
a  broad,  low-pitched  gable  roof  above  a  third  story, 
with  foreshortened  windows  and  otherwise  conforming 
to  the  early  Federal  type  of  Salem.  Like  the  Stearns 
house,  at  Number  384  Essex  Street,  erected  in  1776, 
most  of  such  houses  were  built  during  the  Revolu- 
tion and  represent  a  transitional  stage  rather  than  a 
distinct  type ;  they  were  the  forerunners  of  the  hip 
roof. 

[62] 


ii=l  131  ii 

I5I4-  IP  uii 


M"  III  I    MB 

QB  ly  iui 


Plate  XXVIII.  —  Hosmer-Townsend-Waters  House  and  Board- 
man  House,  80  and  82  Washington  Square  East.      Erected 
1795  and  1785  respectively,  Simon  Forrester  House, 
Derby  Street.      Erected  before  1800. 


Plate  XXIX.  —  Captain  Edward  Allen  House,  125  Derby  Street. 

Erected  1780;   Briggs-Whipple  House,  38  Forrester  Street. 

Erected   about    1800. 


The   Square    Three-Story    Wood  House 

Exteriorly  the  Stearns  house  is  notable  chiefly  for 
the  handsome  Doric  porch  added  by  Mclntire  in 
1785,  and  which  is  referred  to  in  detail  in  Chapter 
VI.  This  was  the  residence  of  Major,  afterward 
Colonel  Joseph  Sprague,  who  was  related  by  mar- 
riage to  the  Stearns  family,  members  of  which  have 
occupied  the  house  and  have  kept  it  in  good  order 
since  Colonel  Sprague's  death  in  1808. 

Colonel  Sprague,  then  a  major,  participated  con- 
spicuously in  the  first  armed  resistance  to  British 
tyranny  at  the  North  Bridge  on  Sunday,  February 
26,  1775,  when  Colonel  Leslie's  British  troops  were 
foiled  in  their  search  for  cannon,  which  leading  men 
in  Salem  had  in  hiding. 

The  house  at  the  corner  of  Derby  Street  and 
Hodges  Court,  erected  before  1800  by  Simon  For- 
rester, a  wealthy  sea  captain,  retains  many  details 
of  the  Provincial  period,  although  generally  Federal 
in  its  characteristics.  One  remarks  at  once  the 
absolutely  symmetrical  arrangement  of  the  facade 
and  the  location  of  two  chimneys  at  each  end  of  the 
house,  as  was  the  case  in  so  many  gambrel-roof 
dwellings.  More  steeply  pitched  than  many  hip-roof 
constructions,  the  roof  of  the  Forrester  house  boasts 
neither  belvedere  nor  balustrade.  The  quoined 
corners  of  the  clapboarded  walls  recall  the  more 
pretentious  wooden  gambrel-roof  mansions.  The 
paneling  of  the  door  was  evidently  inspired  by  that  of 
the  Richard  Derby  house,  but  the  Doric  porch  is 

[63] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

typical  of  the  Federal  period,  although  exceptional 
in  its  square  columns. 

A  rare  example  of  the  square  —  nearly  cubical  — 
dwelling  with  its  hip  roof  rising  to  a  single  great 
chimney  in  the  exact  center  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
Hosmer-Townsend- Waters  house,  Number  80  Wash- 
ington Square,  designed  for  Captain  Joseph  Hosmer 
by  Mclntire  in  1795.  It  contains  much  fine  interior 
woodwork  and  is  famous  for  its  wistaria-clad,  in- 
closed side  porch  referred  to  again  in  Chapter  VI. 
This  house  was  long  the  home  of  Henry  FitzGilbert 
Waters,  author  of  "John  Harvard  and  His  An- 
cestry", "An  Examination  into  the  English  Ancestry 
of  George  Washington"  and  many  papers  devoted 
to  the  genealogy  of  prominent  Salem  families. 
Mr.  Waters  is  said  to  have  had  the  best  private 
collection  of  rare  Colonial  furniture  in  New 
England. 

To  the  left  in  the  accompanying  photograph  is 
to  be  seen  the  Boardman  house  at  Number  82 
Washington  Square  East,  with  its  handsome  in- 
closed porch  and  gateway,  to  which  further  reference 
is  made  in  Chapter  VI.  By  the  beauty  of  its  propor- 
tions and  detail  this  house  attracted  the  attention  of 
George  Washington  when  visiting  Salem  in  1789. 
It  was  then  new,  having  been  erected  in  1785,  and 
was  offered  for  Washington's  use.  Captain  Boardman 
stood  in  the  front  doorway  when  Washington  passed 
by  on  his  way  to  breakfast  with  his  old  friend  George 

[64] 


The   Square    Three-Story    Wood  House 

Cabot  at  Beverly  and  overheard  Washington's 
query,  "How  do  you  build  such  handsome  houses  ?" 

The  Captain  Edward  Allen  house,  Number  125 
Derby  Street,  erected  in  1780,  Is  an  example  of  an 
oblong  house  with  a  single  great  chimney  centrally 
located.  Otherwise  the  structure  greatly  resembles 
the  Simon  Forrester  house,  except  for  the  different 
sash  arrangement  of  the  foreshortened  third-story 
windows  and  the  broader  Inclosed  porch. 

Two  more  houses  on  corner  sites,  with  attractive 
though  simple  Colonial  fences,  and  resembling  the 
Hosmer-Townsend-Waters  house  more  or  less  nearly, 
are  of  interest  not  so  much  for  individual  architectural 
merit  as  for  their  frank  simplicity  and  appearance 
of  substantial  comfort.  Each  forms  a  typical  picture 
redolent  of  the  spirit  of  early  Federal  days  In  Salem. 
Both  have  interesting  doorways,  which  are  alluded 
to  In  Chapter  VI. 

The  Briggs-Whipple  house.  Number  38  Forrester 
Street,  erected  before  1800,  was  the  home  of  Enos 
Briggs,  one  of  the  principal  master  shipbuilders  of 
Massachusetts.  Briggs  came  to  Salem  In  1790, 
previous  to  which  he  had  followed  his  occupation  on 
the  North  River  In  Plymouth  County.  After  super- 
intending the  erection  of  two  ships  at  the  head  of 
Derby  wharf,  he  launched  one  of  them  sideways  as 
a  matter  of  novelty  which  drew  a  great  crowd.  This 
was  on  May  3,  1791,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  the 
same  month  he  launched  the  Grand  Turk,  a  ship  of 

[65] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

564  tons,  the^second  of  that  name  owned  by  Elias 
Hasket  Derby  and  said  to  have  been  the  largest  ship 
intended  for  merchant  service  ever  built  in  Salem. 
Briggs  then  established  his  own  yard  in  South 
Salem  near  Stage  Point.  There  he  continued  in 
business  until  1817,  two  years  previous  to  his  death, 
building  fifty-one  vessels  aggregating  11,500  tons, 
including  the  famous  frigate  Essex. 

The  George  M.  Whipple  house  at  Number  2 
Andover  Street,  erected  in  1804,  interests  the  student 
of  architecture  chiefly  for  the  unusual  location  of  the 
front  doorway  to  one  side  of  the  center.  Such  an 
arrangement  in  seventeenth-century  houses  is  by  no 
means  infrequent,  but  in  the  square  houses  of  this 
period  is  rarely  seen.  The  inclosed  porch  and  Pal- 
ladian  window  above  are  modern. 

Until  about  1902,  when  it  was  razed,  there  stood 
at  Number  376  Essex  Street  the  handsome  residence 
of  Aaron  Waite,  of  Pierce  and  Waite,  a  firm  of  pros- 
perous merchants  and  shipowners.  Waite's  partner, 
Jerathmel  Pierce,  in  1782  erected,  after  plans  by 
Mclntire,  the  so-called  Nichols  house  at  Number  80 
Federal  Street,  now  commonly  spoken  of  as  the 
finest  old  wooden  house  in  New  England.  The  Aaron 
Waite  house  was  erected  in  1 789-1 790  and  has  been 
accredited  to  Daniel  Bancroft,  the  architect  and 
builder  who  constructed  the  court-house  of  1785 
designed  by  Mclntire. 

The  photograph  shows  well  a  characteristic  estate 

[66] 


Plate    XXX.  —  Aaron    Waite    House,    376   Essex  Street.      Erected 

1789-1790  ;   George  M.  Whipple  House,  2  Andover  Street. 

Erected  1804. 


Platk   XXXI. — Timothy  Orne  House,  266  Essex  Street.      Erected 

1761  ;   Peabody-Rantoul  House,  19  Chestnut  Street. 

Erected  1810. 


The   Square    Three-Story    Wood  House 

of  the  time,  a  square  main  house  standing  directly 
on  the  street,  with  stately  gateposts  and  picket  fence 
at  each  side  of  the  lot  to  accommodate  a  stable  at 
the  rear  adjoining  the  L  of  the  house,  the  stable 
door  being  architecturally  treated,  and  the  side  door 
of  the  house  also  serving  as  a  carriage  entrance.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  Boardman  house,  the  hip  roof  rises 
to  a  balustraded  belvedere,  and  one  notices  the 
growing  custom  of  locating  chimneys  only  where 
needed  without  regard  for  exterior  appearance. 

While  quoined  corners  were  still  frequently  em- 
ployed with  clapboarded  walls,  rusticated  boarding 
to  simulate  cut  stone,  which  had  enjoyed  a  certain 
vogue  during  Provincial  times,  rarely  found  favor 
with  those  who  built  square  three-story  houses.  The 
Timothy  Orne  house  at  Number  266  Essex  Street, 
however,  was  erected  in  1761  while  Provincial 
influences  were  at  their  height,  and  although  in 
general  design  and  arrangement  the  house  was 
rather  ahead  of  its  time,  in  finish  it  was  not  unlike 
several  gambrel-roof  structures  of  Essex  County.  The 
two  large  chimney  stacks  symmetrically  located  are 
characteristic  of  the  earlier  period,  and  the  deck 
roof  with  its  slender  ornamental  palings  and  posts 
differs  from  most  arrangements  on  hip-roofed  houses 
in  that  the  balustrade  is  placed  neither  near  the 
ridge  nor  the  eaves,  but  about  midway  between  them. 

Timothy  Orne  was  one  of  the  leading  merchants 
of  Salem  just  before  the  Revolution.     His  leanings 

[671 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

at  times  seemed  to  favor  the  Crown,  and  Felt  in  his 
"Annals  of  Salem"  relates  that  an  old  letter,  dated 
November  i8,  1775,  tells  how  Orne  was  taken  in 
the  evening  from  a  house  in  School  Street  and 
threatened  with  being  tarred  and  feathered  for 
some  expression  not  sufficiently  anti-royal,  but  was 
released  by  the  Committee  of  Safety. 

Deck  roofs  such  as  that  of  the  Orne  house  and  other 
dwellings  in  Salem  undoubtedly  induced  Mr.  William 
G.  Rantoul,  the  eminent  Boston  architect,  to  em- 
bellish his  residence  at  Number  19  Chestnut  Street 
in  the  course  of  alterations  about  1905,  by  adding  a 
balustrade,  located,  however,  at  the  eaves  as  on  the 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house.  Both  posts  and 
palings  accord  with  older  Salem  work,  yet  possess  a 
certain  individuality,  particularly  the  palings  which, 
unlike  most  others,  comprise  two  pleasing  patterns 
in  alternation.  New  and  attractive  window  frames 
with  architrave  casings  of  typically  Salem  pattern 
were  added  at  the  same  time,  while  the  Doric  porch 
and  door  with  glass  lights  in  the  two  upper  panels 
were  copied  from  that  of  the  Goss-Osgood  house  at 
Number  15  Chestnut  Street.  Of  broad  street  frontage 
but  no  great  depth,  this  is  one  of  the  many  three- 
story  wood  houses  of  this  period  that  are  oblong 
rather  than  square  and  depend  on  a  two-story  L  in 
the  rear  for  several  rooms.  It  was  erected  in  18 10 
by  the  Reverend  Charles  Cleveland,  great-uncle  of 
President  Cleveland,   and   deputy  collector  of  the 

[68] 


The   Square    Three- Story    Wood  House 

port  of  Salem  from  1789  to  1802,  who  lived  to  within 
a  few  days  of  a  complete  century. 

A  house  of  virtually  the  same  general  character, 
though  lacking  the  decked  roof  and  pleasing  fenestra- 
tion of  the  Rantoul  residence,  is  the  birthplace  of 
General  Frederick  W.  Lander  at  Number  5  Barton 
Square,  erected  about  1800.  Here  the  third-story 
windows  are  smaller  and  the  intended  effect  of  fore- 
shortening was  not  achieved,  the  high-studded 
rooms  with  windows  of  normal  height  on  the  two 
lower  floors  leaving  too  broad,  unbroken  wall  spaces. 
The  six-pane  upper  windows  do  not  possess  the 
pleasing  scale  of  the  more  common  nine-paned  fore- 
shortened windows.  The  side  entrance  and  veranda 
are  of  more  recent  date  than  the  house  proper. 

A  brave  officer  with  an  enviable  record  in  the 
government  service,  both  before  and  during  the 
Civil  War,  General  Lander  was  one  of  Salem's  most 
honored  men.  Being  a  civil  engineer  by  profession 
he  was  employed  by  the  government  to  report  on 
the  feasibility  of  a  transcontinental  railway  to  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  he  later  constructed  the  great 
overland  wagon  road  which  made  the  construction 
of  the  railway  possible.  Prospecting  in  those  pioneer 
days  was  fraught  with  many  dangers,  and  on  one 
surveying  expedition,  undertaken  at  his  own  expense, 
he  was  the  only  member  of  the  party  to  return  alive. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  in  1861  he  was  in 
Texas  on  a  secret  mission  for  the  government,  but 

[69] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

escaped  with  great  difficulty  with  important  advices. 
He  was  thereupon  made  a  brigadier-general  and  soon 
afterward  assigned  to  a  command  on  the  upper 
Potomac.  In  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff  on  October  21, 
1 861,  he  was  shot  in  the  leg.  The  wound  had  not 
healed  when  he  reported  for  duty  to  General  Hancock 
in  January,  1862,  and  his  death  followed  early  in 
March,  being  announced  in  a  special  order  by  General 
McClellan.  His  body  was  brought  to  Salem  where 
it  lay  in  state  at  the  City  Hall  and  was  buried  with 
honors  unequaled  since  the  funeral  of  Captain 
Lawrence  and  Lieutenant  Ludlow  of  the  Chesapeake 
who  were  killed  in  the  memorable  engagement  with 
the  Shannon  in  181 3  off  the  port  of  Salem. 

Occasionally  where  an  ample  site  permitted,  a 
wing  extended  to  one  side  of  the  main  house  along 
the  street,  instead  of  an  L  projecting  from  the  rear, 
and  thus  by  greatly  elongating  the  oblong  arrange- 
ment reduced  in  a  measure  the  apparent  height  of  a 
three-story  structure.  A  notable  example  was  the 
Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters  house  at  Number 
74  Washington  Square  East,  as  it  appeared  prior  to 
1892  and  as  shown  by  the  accompanying  illustration. 
A  hip-roofed  dwelling,  three  stories  high  and  of  the 
utmost  simplicity,  the  elliptical  porch  over  the  front 
doorway  with  its  heavy  Tuscan  columns  and  the 
inclosed  porch  of  the  three-story  wing  afford  the  only 
architectural  embellishments,  aside  from  the  neces- 
sary windows,  to  break  the  great  expanse  of  the 

[70] 


MICV- 


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Plate     XXXIL  — Cook-Oliver     House,     142     Federal     Street. 

Erected  1804;  Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters  House, 

72  Washington  Square  East.      Erected  1805. 


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The   Square    Three- Story    Wood  House 

facade.  The  fence  with  its  small  square  posts,  light 
molded  rails  and  base,  and  unique  jig-sawed  member 
between  each  five  square  pickets,  is  of  simple  grace 
and  provides  an  effective  foil  for  the  severity  of  the 
house  itself. 

The  house  was  erected  in  1805,  after  plans  by 
Samuel  Mclntire,  for  Clifford  Crowninshield,  a 
merchant  who  accumulated  considerable  wealth  by 
many  daring  ventures  at  sea.  It  is  interesting  to 
recall  that  the  Minerva,  owned  by  him  and  Nathaniel 
West,  was  the  first  Salem  vessel  to  circumnavigate 
the  globe.  After  Mr.  Crowninshield's  death  in  1809, 
his  wife  having  died  and  there  being  no  children,  the 
house  was  occupied  by  Captain  James  Devereux, 
who  had  married  Mr.  Crowninshield's  sister  Sarah  in 
1792.  It  was  Captain  Devereux  who  commanded  the 
ship  Franklin  of  Boston,  the  first  American  vessel 
to  trade  with  Japan,  half  a  century  before  commercial 
intercourse  was  opened  between  the  island  empire  of 
the  Far  East  and  the  United  States.  His  ship  was 
also  among  the  first  to  engage  in  the  Mocha  trade, 
the  records  showing  that  in  1808  the  Franklin  brought 
from  there  a  cargo  of  532,365  pounds  of  coffee, 
consigned  to  Joseph  Peabody,  on  which  a  duty  of 
$26,618.25  was  paid.  In  1846  Captain  Devereux 
died  and  the  house  was  occupied  by  Captain  William 
Dean  Waters,  whose  wife  Abigail  was  a  daughter 
of  Captain  Devereux.  On  the  death  of  Captain 
Waters  in  1880  it  was  inherited  by  his  son  William 

[71] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

Crowninshleld  Waters,  who  sold  it  in  1892.  Up  to 
that  time  the  structure  had  remained  unchanged, 
but  the  new  owner,  Zina  Goodell,  changed  the 
main  part  of  it  from  an  oblong  house  with  three 
rooms  on  each  floor  to  a  square  house  with  four 
rooms  on  each  floor  by  moving  the  wing  around 
to  the  rear  and  about  doubling  the  depth  of  the 
building. 

Residences  arranged  like  the  Crowninshield- 
Devereux  house  as  it  was  originally  built,  but  stand- 
ing end  to  the  street  on  a  deep  lot  of  narrow  street 
frontage,  the  service  wing  extending  straight  back 
from  the  rear  end  of  the  main  house,  were  frequently 
erected,  and  many  still  remain.  Although  of  quaint 
simplicity  yet  only  slight  architectural  pretension, 
none  of  these  holds  more  of  interest  than  the  modest 
gable-roof  house  at  Number  3 1  Summer  Street  which 
was  the  home  of  Samuel  Mclntire,  the  eminent 
architect  and  wood-carver,  whose  life  and  work 
have  been  so  completely  detailed  and  illustrated  in  a 
previous  book  by  the  present  authors  entitled  "The 
Wood-Carver  of  Salem." 

Of  a  family  of  carvers,  joiners  and  housewrights, 
whose  skill  descended  through  several  generations, 
Mclntire  stands  forth  as  the  genius  among  them. 
In  his  father's  shop  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter 
and  joiner,  and,  as  the  result  of  persistent  applica- 
tion with  his  tools  and  of  cultivating  his  inherent 
sense  of  design  through  diligent  study  of  the  classic 

[721 


The   Square    Three-Story   Wood  House 

masters,  he  not  only  became  probably  the  most 
highly  skilled  American  wood-carver  of  his  time, 
but  the  most  eminent  architect  of  the  city  most 
widely  known  for  the  rare  beauty  of  its  Colonial 
residences  and  public  buildings. 

For  thirty  years,  until  his  death  in  1811,  Salem 
architecture  was  dominated  by  this  man  whose  name 
in  the  annals  of  New  England  building  ranks  second 
only  to  that  of  Charles  Bulfinch,  architect  of  the 
Massachusetts  State  House.  During  that  period 
most  of  the  finer  residences  and  several  public 
edifices  were  designed  by  him.  Working  at  a  time 
when  virtually  all  the  large  houses  in  New  England 
were  being  built  three  stories  high  and  square  or 
oblong,  he  naturally  followed  the  tendency  of  the 
time,  but  obtained  considerable  individuality  by 
variation  of  the  floor  plan,  particularly  by  alteration 
of  the  relation  between  the  main  houses  and  the  L, 
where  the  latter  existed.  And  what  the  style  lacked 
in  picturesqueness  of  line  and  mass  he  supplied  in 
variety  of  embellishment,  as  seen  in  the  beautiful 
detail  of  his  doorways,  porches,  windows,  cornices, 
deck  roofs,  belvederes  and  occasional  pilaster  treat- 
ment of  the  fa9ade.  He  was  also  especially  successful 
in  cleverly  foreshortening  the  third  story,  with  nearly 
square  windows  to  reduce  the  apparent  total  height 
of  the  structure,  the  effect  being  due  to  nice  propor- 
tions carefully  determined. 

That  Mclntire's  achievements  are  incomparably 

[73] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

more  pleasing  than  similar  contemporaneous  work 
elsewhere  in  America  is  due  to  his  skill  with  tools, 
inherent  good  taste,  keen  sense  of  proportion  and 
native  ingenuity.  Unlike  many  American  builders 
who  took  their  inspiration  chiefly  if  not  wholly  from 
Georgian  work,  Mclntire,  like  Jones,  Wren,  Gibbons, 
and  the  brothers  Adam,  went  back  to  original 
sources  and  adapted  directly  from  the  Greek  and 
Roman  classics,  with  modifications  and  innovations 
of  his  own,  the  result  being  that  his  designs  are  more 
chaste,  original  and  imaginative.  His  detail,  in  its 
freedom,  refinement,  lightness  and  graceful  dignity, 
presents  a  more  domestic,  personal,  direct  and  al- 
together charming  interpretation  of  Renaissance 
motives  and  therefore  more  useful  suggestions  for 
present-day  work.  Indeed,  his  doorways,  chimney 
pieces  and  other  wood  trim  have  furnished  the  in- 
spiration for  more  of  the  best  modern  Colonial  houses 
than  has  the  work  of  any  other  early  American 
architect,  and  a  consideration  of  these  sources  brings 
his  name  frequently  into  the  pages  that  follow. 

Many  of  Mclntire's  plans  and  a  few  of  his  tools  are 
preserved  at  the  Essex  Institute,  and  an  examination 
of  the  incomplete  character  of  the  former  and  the 
crudity  of  the  latter  redoubles  one's  admiration  for 
the  nicety  of  the  work  he  accomplished  with  their 
aid.  In  1793  Mclntire  entered  a  design  for  the 
national  capitol  at  Washington  in  the  first  architec- 
tural competition  ever  held  in  America.    His  plans, 

[74] 


The   Square    Three-Story    Wood  House 

preserved  by  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  com- 
pare favorably  with  the  other  submitted  plans,  and 
had  he  lived  it  is  likely  that,  after  the  death  of 
William  Thornton  in  1827,  he  would  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  B.  H.  Latrobe  and  Charles  Bulfinch  in 
the  modification  and  construction  of  the  design 
chosen. 

After  he  had  become  established  in  his  career 
Mclntire  bought  the  modest  house  at  Number  31 
Summer  Street  which  had  been  erected  in  1780, 
and  in  the  yard  at  the  rear  located  his  shop,  where 
much  of  the  wood  finish  and  fine  carving  for  houses 
designed  by  him  was  prepared.  During  his  brief 
career  he  was  too  busy  to  build  himself  a  house 
such  as  he  might  have -desired,  and  it  is  not  known 
to  what  extent  he  improved  the  Summer  Street 
house,  if  at  all.  Although  of  the  utmost  simplicity, 
the  mantels  and  other  wood  trim  resemble  his  work 
and  possess  a  certain  pleasing  distinction.  The  front 
room  on  the  third  floor  was  his  music  room,  and  the 
coved  ceiling  under  the  gable  roof  was  probably  his 
own  idea.  Here  he  had  his  best  furniture,  an  organ 
and  other  musical  instruments  on  which  he  was  an 
accomplished  performer,  and  here  he  spent  his 
leisure  hours  and  entertained  his  friends. 

Turning  now  to  specific  examples  of  Mclntire's 
genius  as  an  architect,  the  Cook-Oliver  house, 
Number  142  Federal  Street,  compares  favorably 
with  anything  in  Salem.  A  stately  mansion,  standing 

175] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

in  the  shade  of  giant  trees,  its  beautiful  entrance 
porch,  fence  and  gateposts  at  once  attract  the  eye. 
As  recounted  in  Chapters  VI  and  XI  they  were 
hand-tooled  by  Mclntire,  together  with  much  of  the 
interior  finish,  for  the  Elias  Hasket  Derby  mansion 
formerly  on  the  site  of  the  Market  House,  and  were 
removed  to  their  present  location  soon  after  1804, 
previous  to  the  complete  razing  of  the  Derby  mansion 
in  1815.  The  house  at  Number  142  Federal  Street 
was  built  after  plans  by  Mclntire  and  under  his 
direction  for  Captain  Samuel  Cook,  a  master  mariner. 
Although  erected  in  1804,  the  house  was  from  eight 
to  eleven  years  in  the  building  because  of  unsuccess- 
ful voyages  which  rendered  the  expense  of  faster 
work  a  burden.  The  need  for  economy  perhaps 
accounts  for  the  use  of  much  woodwork  from  the 
Derby  mansion.  However  that  may  be,  its  employ- 
ment transformed  what  had  been  planned  as  an 
ordinary  house  into  one  of  exceptional  charm  and 
distinction  and  preserved  some  of  Mclntire's  most 
notable   personal   handicraft. 

In  more  recent  years  this  house  was  occupied 
until  his  death  in  1885  by  Captain  Cook's  son-in-law, 
General  Henry  Kemble  Oliver,  the  famous  composer 
and  musician,  and  here  he  wrote  the  music  for 
"Federal  Street"  and  several  other  well-known 
church  hymns.  General  Oliver  was  at  various  times 
one  of  the  early  mayors  of  Lawrence,  treasurer  of 
her  great  cotton  mills.  Adjutant  General  and  State 

[76] 


Plate  XXXIV.  —  The  house  where  Hawthorne  achieved  fame, 

14  Mall  Street;   Paved  Courtyard  between  Pierce-Johonnot- 

Nichols  House  and  Barn. 


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The   Square    Three-Story    Wood  House 

Treasurer  of  Massachusetts,  and  Mayor  of  Salem 
in  his  eightieth  year. 

Like  most  residences  of  the  time  the  Cook-Oliver 
house  is  a  square  structure,  three  stories  high,  with 
a  two-story  L  at  the  rear  jutting  by  on  one  side  of 
the  main  house  far  enough  to  permit  a  side  door. 
The  third  story  of  the  main  house  is  foreshortened, 
with  almost  square,  nine-paned  windows  to  reduce 
the  apparent  total  height  and  the  roof  was  originally 
decked  with  a  surrounding  balustrade  and  reached 
through  a  scuttle.  All  walls  are  clapboarded,  except 
for  the  flat  boarding  of  the  "jut-by"  and  the  eastern 
wall  of  the  main  house,  which  is  of  brick,  afi"ording, 
before  its  neighbor  was  built,  greater  protection 
against  the  northeast  storms  off  the  sea. 

Several  refined  and  attractive  architectural  features 
relieve  the  severity  of  line  inevitable  in  a  square 
building.  Most  important  of  these,  the  porch  and 
doorway  are  treated  in  Chapter  VI.  Windows  with 
molded  architrave  casings  range  absolutely  on  all 
elevations,  the  second-story  window  frames  being 
elaborated  by  the  addition  of  beautiful  hand-carved 
beads.  A  heavy  cornice  with  large  molded  modillions 
adorns  the  eaves,  and  a  broad,  horizontal  belt  of 
vertical-fluted  wood  finish  at  the  level  of  the  second 
floor  and  porch  cornice  extends  across  the  entire 
facade  and  serves  to  tie  the  porch  to  the  house  as  a 
whole. 

Of   the   many   mansions    designed   by   Mclntire, 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

most  of  which  still  stand  in  excellent  condition, 
thanks  to  Salem  thrift  and  the  durability  of  white 
pine,  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols  house  at  Number 
80  Federal  Street  is  looked  upon  as  the  principal 
monument  to  his  genius.  His  masterpiece  was 
probably  the  Elias  Hasket  Derby  mansion  which 
formerly  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Market 
House  and  to  which  detailed  reference  is  made  in 
Chapter  XL  To-day,  however,  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  house  is  the  architectural  gem  of  old  Salem, 
and  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  finest  wooden 
Colonial  house  in  New  England. 

While  it  boasts  no  important  association  with 
historic  events  in  national  affairs,  the  pathos  of  its 
romantic  memories  makes  direct  appeal  to  all. 
Erected  in  1782,  and  its  last  interior  woodwork 
completed  in  1801,  it  was  the  pride  and  joy  of 
Jerathmel  Pierce,  a  wealthy  East  India  merchant. 
Here  were  centered  all  his  life  interests,  for  a  path 
led  from  the  inclosed  porch  directly  to  the  wharf 
and  warehouse  on  the  North  River,  then  a  navigable 
stream,  where  his  ships  came  laden  with  spices  and 
fabrics  from  the  Orient.  The  gradual  completion  of 
the  house,  room  by  room,  and  the  development  of 
the  terraced  garden  were  objects  of  his  daily  attention 
while  still  in  constant  touch  with  his  business.  In 
1826,  however,  financial  adversity  deprived  him 
and  his  son-in-law,  George  Nichols,  of  their  fortunes, 
and  in  consequence  the  house  was  sold  in  1827  to 

[78] 


The   Square    Three-Story    JVood  House 

George  Johonnot,  an  old  friend  of  both  families. 
Mr.  Pierce,  then  in  his  eightieth  year,  could  not  bear 
so  great  a  shock ;  only  once  after  going  to  live  with 
his  son-in-law  in  the  famous  old  Tontine  Block  did 
he  look  at  the  mansion  which  had  formerly  been  his, 
and  shortly  afterward  he  died.  During  the  year 
1839  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johonnot  died,  and  it  was 
discovered  that  the  house  had  been  willed  by  them 
to  George  Nichols  and  his  wife  to  be  held  in  trust 
for  their  four  daughters.  Thus  the  estate  came  back 
into  the  family,  and  the  son-in-law  was  enabled  to 
pass  his  declining  years  in  the  house  where  he  married 
his  first  wife  and  where  his  second  wife,  Betsy  Pierce, 
was  born.  After  relinquishing  active  management 
of  his  business  upon  the  verge  of  seventy  in  favor  of 
two  of  his  sons,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  care  of  the 
beautiful  garden  at  the  back  of  the  house  which 
even  to-day  retains  much  of  its  former  charm. 

Thus  architects,  antiquaries,  lovers  of  romance 
and  Colonial  art  rejoice  that  in  191 7  the  house  was 
purchased  by  the  Essex  Institute  for  permanent 
preservation  as  a  magnificent  specimen  of  the 
residence  of  a  Salem  merchant  and  ship  owner  during 
the  period  of  great  commercial  prosperity  following 
the  Revolution. 

As  a  whole  the  greater  depth,  breadth  and  fore- 
shortened third  story  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols 
house  give  it  a  mass  much  more  pleasing  than  the 
average  square  Salem  house.    Its  particular  distinc- 

[791 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

tion,  however,  lies  in  the  classic  balustrades  of 
the  low,  decked,  hip  roof  and  belvedere,  whence 
arriving  ships  might  be  watched  for,  and  the  at- 
tractive embellishment  of  the  fluted  pilaster  treat- 
ment at  the  corners,  a  free  use  of  the  Doric  order, 
which  does  much  to  mitigate  the  severity  in  shape 
of  a  square  house.  The  Doric  spirit  also  pervades 
the  entrance  porch  at  the  front  and  the  inclosed 
porch  at  the  side  doorway,  which  in  pleasing  propor- 
tion and  delicate  detail  are  the  equal  of  any  to  be 
found  in  New  England.  The  fence  and  charming 
urn-topped  gateposts  framing  the  doorway  vista 
harmonize  well  with  these  porches ;  the  posts, 
reproductions  of  the  originals,  are  especially  well 
formed  as  to  proper  height  and  classic  outline,  the 
urns  being  the  originals  and  carved  out  of  solid 
blocks  of  wood.  The  window  treatment,  both  of  caps 
and  casings,  is  one  of  effective  simplicity,  and  the 
dark-painted  doors  with  panels  well  spaced  are 
equipped  with  quaint  brass  hardware,  including 
one  of  the  handsomest  knockers  in  Salem.  At  the 
rear  of  the  house  the  stable  and  various  outbuildings 
range  about  a  brick-paved  court  and  form  a  picture 
of  remarkable  picturesqueness.  Whereas  the  gable 
ends  of  the  outbuildings  are  embellished  with  keyed 
round  arches,  the  one-story  wing  of  the  house  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  court  consists  of  a  series  of  broad 
doors  under  elliptical  fanlights  somewhat  after  the 
manner  of  a  colonnade.    This  device,  reflecting  the 

[80] 


The   Square    Three-Story    Wood  House 

Adam  influence  which  dominates  the  treatment 
of  the  eastern  rooms  of  the  house,  presents  a  motive 
of  exceptional  charm  for  modern  adaptation  where  a 
glazed  sun  porch  is  desired.  Indoors  Mclntire  found 
ample  opportunity  to  display  his  best  efforts  as  a 
designer  and  wood-carver,  and  much  of  the  splendid 
woodwork  and  several  magnificent  mantels  and 
chimney  pieces  are  treated  in  succeeding  chapters 
devoted  to  those  subjects. 

Houses  of  every  principal  period  of  Salem  archi- 
tecture are  more  or  less  directly  associated  with 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  and  the  so-called  three-story 
square  type  is  no  exception.  At  various  times 
Hawthorne  occupied  five  different  places  of  residence 
in  Salem,  and  many  other  old  dwellings,  such  as  the 
Grimshawe  house,  were  among  his  favorite  haunts 
or  were  described  by  him  in  his  books. 

For  about  sixteen  months  in  1846  and  1847,  while 
serving  as  surveyor  of  the  Port  of  Salem  and  Beverly, 
Hawthorne  occupied  the  house  at  Number  18  Chest- 
nut Street.  Like  many  others  it  was  oblong  rather 
than  square  and  stood  end  to  the  street  with 
a  wing  projecting  from  the  opposite  end.  Three 
stories  high  and  hip  roofed,  it  afforded  a  comfortable 
home  of  the  time,  yet  without  special  architectural 
distinction,  and  was  considerably  altered  during  the 
Victorian  decadence,  the  treatment  of  the  former 
principal  entrance  at  the  side  on  Botts  Court  and  the 
addition   of  the   present  front   entrance   with   bay 

[81] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

windows  above  being  most  unfortunate.  It  was 
during  the  early  months  of  Hawthorne's  occupancy 
that  his  son  Julian  was  born  in  Boston  at  the  home 
of  his  father-in-law,  Doctor  Nathaniel  Peabody. 
Little  of  his  important  literary  work  was  done 
in  the  house,  yet  his  remarkably  retiring  disposition 
led  him  to  live  here  in  seclusion  as  much  as  ever. 
To  avoid  callers  whom  he  did  not  wish  to  meet,  he 
would  steal  out  of  the  back  door,  which  opened  on 
the  narrow  court  running  between  Chestnut  and 
Essex  streets,  and  remain  as  long  as  necessary  in 
the  house  of  his  friend  Doctor  Benjamin  F.  Browne 
at  the  other  end  of  the  court. 

It  was  in  his  last  Salem  residence  at  Number  14 
Mall  Street  that  Hawthorne  ^achieved  fame,  although 
this  house  proved  to  be  not  a  place  of  joy  as  he  had 
anticipated,  but  rather  one  of  sorrow.  Here  he 
lived  from  the  autumn  of  1847  until  he  moved  to 
Lenox  in  1850,  and  in  his  study  on  the  third  floor 
overlooking  the  street  he  wrote  "The  Scarlet  Letter" 
under  the  severe  pressure  of  dismissal  from  office  and 
financial  distress,  and  interrupted  by  his  mother's 
death  in  1849  and  his  own  serious  illness.  A  change 
in  the  administration  at  Washington  brought  a  new 
appointee  as  Surveyor  of  the  Port,  and  to  his  Mall 
Street  home  he  came  to  tell  his  wife  that  he  had  been 
turned  out  of  office.  "Very  well,"  said  she,  "now 
you  can  write  your  romance."  And  in  response  to 
his  query  as  to  what  they  should  live  on  meantime 

[82] 


Plate   XXXVI.  —  The   "  Grimshawe  "  House,  53  Charter  Street. 

Erected  about  1780;   Hawthorne's  Residence  in    1846  and 

1847,  18  Chestnut  Street. 


Plate    XXXVII. — Gardner-White-Pingree    House,    128    Essex 

Street.      Erected  18 lO;   Dodge-Shreve  House,  29  Chestnut 

Street.     Erected  18 17. 


The   Square    Three- Story    Wood  House 

she  showed  him  in  a  bureau  drawer  the  gold  she  had 
saved  from  portions  of  his  salary  which  he  had  given 
her  occasionally. 

It  was  in  "a  chamber  over  the  sitting-room" 
early  in  1850  that  James  T.  Fields,  the  Boston 
publisher,  found  the  despondent  Hawthorne  "hover- 
ing near  a  stove",  and  induced  him  to  submit  his 
manuscript  of  "The  Scarlet  Letter"  for  a  reading. 
In  "Yesterdays  With  Authors"  Fields  tells  of 
Hawthorne's  great  reluctance,  repeated  refusals  and 
grave  fears  that  the  book  would  be  a  failure,  also  of 
his  own  enthusiasm  as  he  read  this  powerful  romance, 
and  of  its  immediate  publication  and  complete 
success. 

The  Mall  Street  house  is  also  oblong  and  stands 
end  to  the  street  with  a  wing  in  the  rear.  It  is  three 
stories  high,  hip  roofed,  and  like  many  others  its 
broad,  picturesque  "front"  door  opens  upon  a  yard 
with  trees  at  one  side  of  the  lot.  Both  house  and 
surroundings  remain  substantially  as  when  Haw- 
thorne left  them. 

Another  end-to-the-street  house,  though  of  much 
broader  frontage  and  having  an  inclosed  entrance 
porch  on  the  street,  is  inseparably  associated  with 
Hawthorne  and  his  writings.  This  so-called  "Grim- 
shawe"  house,  erected  about  1780  at  Number  53 
Charter  Street,  adjoining  the  Charter  Street  Burial 
Ground,  was  the  scene  of  Hawthorne's  courtship 
and  happiest  hours,  for  it  was  the  home  of  his  child- 

[83] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

hood  playmate,  Sophia  Amelia  Peabody,  the  daughter 
of  Doctor  Nathaniel  Peabody  of  Boston,  whom  he 
married  in  the  summer  of  1842.  Externally  the 
"Grimshawe"  house  has  changed  but  little  in  form, 
but  an  unfortunate  fire  in  1915  burned  out  the 
interior,  and  the  structure  was  then  remodeled 
as  a  lodging  house,  the  inclosed  porch  described  in 
the  first  chapter  of  "Dr.  Grimshawe's  Secret"  being 
removed  for  preservation  to  the  garden  of  the  Essex 
Institute. 


[84] 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  SQUARE  THREE-STORY  BRICK  HOUSE 

THE  common  adoption  of  brick  construction 
for  most  of  the  better  residences  during  the 
first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  considerably 
broadened  the  scope  of  the  three-story  square  house. 
While  the  general  mass,  roof  lines  and  ornamental 
features  continued  substantially  unchanged,  except 
that  the  Ionic  and  especially  the  Corinthian  orders 
replaced  the  Doric  and  Tuscan  which  had  prevailed 
in  former  years,  brickwork  contributed  numerous 
desirable  characteristics  not  possessed  by  clap- 
boarded  walls.  Foremost  among  them  should  be 
mentioned  its  permanence  and  fireproof  qualities 
which  are  responsible  for  the  preservation  of  so  many 
of  these  splendid  century-old  homes  in  almost  as  good 
condition  as  when  they  were  erected^  But  this  is  by 
no  means  all  :  brickwork  clothed  these  boxlike  houses 
with  that  delightful  warmth  of  color,  that  charming 
texture  of  the  bonding,  that  enlivening  contrast  of 
marble  lintels  and  sills,  mortar  joints  and  white- 
painted  wood  trim  against  a  red  background,  and 
that  satisfying  appearance  of  certain  comfort  and 

[85] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

intrinsic  worth  which  wood  construction,  however 
honest  and  attractive,  cannot  convey. 

On  a  foundation  of  large  cut-granite  blocks  the 
brickwork  was  for  the  most  part  laid  up  in  Flemish 
bond  with  headers  and  stretchers  in  alternation  in 
the  same  course.  The  Richard  Derby  house,  erected 
in  1 761,  the  oldest  brick  house  now  standing  in 
Salem,  has  this  bonding,  and  it  was  generally  em- 
ployed until  about  1816  and  18 17  when  longitudinal 
or  running  bond  began  to  be  used,  as  in  the  Dodge- 
Shreve  and  Silsbee-Mott  houses.  Very  likely  in 
some  of  these  latter  houses  transverse  or  tie  courses 
exist,  but  are  concealed,  as  in  the  walls  of  the  East 
India  Marine  Hall.  While  making  alterations  in 
this  building  in  1885  it  was  found  that  every  eighth 
course  consisted  of  special  square  bricks  eight  by 
eight  by  two  inches,  having  the  outward  appearance 
of  stretchers  but  the  strength  of  headers  in  the  wall. 
The  brickwork  of  the  Pickman-Shreve-Little  house 
is  laid  up  in  running  bond  with  every  eighth  course 
consisting  of  ordinary  headers  to  form  a  transverse 
tie  course. 

Several  of  the  many  old  brick  houses  still  standing 
in  Salem  are  the  work  of  Mclntire,  and  are  alluded 
to  either  here  or  in  Chapter  XL  Most  of  them 
obviously  owe  much  to  the  influence  of  his  genius. 
They  are  scattered  through  Derby,  Essex  and  Chest- 
nut streets  and  about  Washington  Square;  the 
mansions  of  Chestnut  Street,  however,  are  especially 

[86] 


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Plate    XXXIX.  —  Peabody-Silsbee     House,    360     Essex     Street. 
Erected  1797;   Hodges-Peele-West  House,  12  Chestnut  Street. 

Erected  1804. 


The   Square    Three-Story   Brick   House 

notable.  This  broad  thoroughfare,  bordered  by 
giant  elms  through  which  stately  residences  and 
welcoming  doorways  are  everywhere  to  be  seen, 
presents  a  favorite  picture  of  the  days  of  Salem's 
former  greatness  that  lingers  long  in  the  memory 
of  every  visitor.  Indeed,  it  has  been  spoken  of  as  the 
finest  architectural  street  in  America,  and  who  cares 
to  deny  it  ?  The  accompanying  illustration  was 
made  from  a  point  in  front  of  Number  lo  Chestnut 
Street,  the  residence  of  Philip  Little,  the  artist. 
This  house  was  erected  in  1804,  but  the  gateposts 
are  modern,  yet  Colonial  in  spirit. 

A  few  more  oblong  houses  were  erected  during  this 
final  period  of  Colonial  architecture  in  Salem,  now 
and  then  one  being  located  end  to  the  street;  but 
generally  speaking  the  nineteenth-century  Colonial 
mansions  of  brick  were  very  nearly  square 
with  service  wings  at  the  rear,  sometimes  centrally 
located,  or  again  jutting  by  the  main  house  at  one 
side. 

Of  the  end-to-the-street  houses  perhaps  the  Mans- 
field-Bolles  house  at  Number  8  Chestnut  Street  best 
deserves  mention  here.  It  is  in  brick  about  what 
Hawthorne's  Mall  Street  residence  was  in  wood.  Its 
chief  distinctions  lie  in  its  doorway  of  graceful 
simplicity  and  the  unusual  gambrel-roofed  wing 
of  wood  at  the  rear  end.  Unlike  most  brick  houses 
of  importance  in  Salem,  aside  from  "The  Studio", 
referred  to  later  in  this  chapter,  its  windows  boast 

[87] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

no  lintels,  but  have  molded  architrave  frames  of 
wood  let  into  the  reveals  of  the  brickwork.  Built 
originally  as  a  two-story  house,  possibly  with  a 
gambrel  roof,  a  third  story  was  added  about  1825 
or  1830  by  Deacon  John  Stone,  and  the  brickwork 
has  since  been  painted  a  slate-gray  color. 

Before  its  enlargement  David  Asby  kept  a  shoe 
store  here,  and  about  1814  the  house  was  occupied 
by  John  Thayer.  In  more  recent  times  it  was  for 
many  years  the  residence  of  the  Reverend  E.  C. 
BoUes,  formerly  pastor  of  the  Universalist  Church 
and  now  the  "grand  old  man"  of  Tufts  College. 
Although  advanced  in  years  and  blind,  Professor 
BoUes  still  holds  his  chair,  and  the  boys  delight  to 
attend  his  lectures.  He  it  was  who  in  1886  with 
William  P.  Upham  and  John  Robinson  made  the 
famous  set  of  witchcraft  photographs,  the  negatives 
of  which  are  now  held  by  the  Essex  Institute. 

Of  the  oblong  mansions  of  brick  with  an  L  in  the 
rear  none  is  more  worthy  of  detailed  attention  than 
the  Gardner-White-Pingree  house.  Number  128  Essex 
,'  Street,  of  which  Samuel  Mclntire  was  the  architect 
in  1 810.  It  was  probably  Mclntire's  last  important 
work  and  may  not  have  been  completed  before  his 
death.  It  is  considered  by  many  to  be  his  best  brick 
house  and  contains  beautiful  interior  woodwork. 
Exteriorly,  by  the  ingenious  use  of  broad,  slightly 
projecting  bands  of  white  marble  at  the  second-  and 
third-floor    levels    Mclntire    at    once    relieved    the 

[88] 


The  Square    Three-Story  Brick  House 

severity  of  so  high  a  facade  and  exaggerated  the 
horizontal  effect.  These  bands,  together  with  the 
sills  and  keyed  flat-arch  lintels  of  the  many  ranging 
windows,  assist  materially  in  creating  a  seemingly 
broader  frontage,  and  so,  like  the  foreshortened 
third-story  windows,  tend  to  reduce  the  apparent 
total  height.  The  handsome  balustrade  of  the  decked 
roof,  consisting  of  classic  turned  balusters  between 
pedestals  at  regular  intervals,  also  assists  to  ac- 
complish the  same  purpose  aside  from  its  ornamental 
value.  Instead  of  increasing  the  apparent  height,  it 
has  the  very  contrary  effect,  and  by  locating  the 
solid  roof  line  somewhat  below  the  absolute  top  of 
the  structure  causes  the  whole  mass  to  look  lower. 
The  elliptical  porch  and  doorway,  one  of  the  best  in 
Salem,  is  treated  in  detail  in  the  following  chapter. 
Another  brick  residence  designed  by  Mclntire, 
and  one  of  his  best  achievements,  is  the  Peabody- 
Silsbee  house  at  Number  380  Essex  Street,  erected 
in  1797.  Historically  it  is  of  interest  as  the  birthplace 
alike  of  the  late  Francis  Peabody,  a  close  personal 
friend  of  the  late  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  and  of  S. 
Endicott  Peabody,  one  of  the  trustees  of  George 
Peabody,  the  London  banker  for  whom  Peabody, 
Massachusetts,  was  named.  Although  a  square 
house  with  several  wings  and  subsequent  additions, 
this  and  the  Gardner-White-Pingree  house  have 
certain  characteristics  in  common,  the  resemblances 
being  emphasized,  perhaps,  by  the  fact  that  in  recent 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

years  the  brickwork  of  both  houses  has  been  painted 
a  slate-gray  color.  Except  for  the  foreshortened 
third-story  windows  the  fenestration  is  virtually 
the  same,  notably  the  lintels.  The  balustrades  of 
the  decked  roofs  are  also  much  the  same,  the  more 
steeply  pitched  hip  roof  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee 
house,  however,  being  elaborated  by  a  surmounting 
belvedere  of  spacious  area.  Whereas  the  cornice 
under  the  eaves  of  the  Gardner-White-Pingree  house 
conforms  fairly  closely  to  the  conventional  Corinthian 
order,  that  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee  house  bears  the 
stamp  of  Mclntire's  originality.  A  ball  molding,  a 
veritable  triumph  of  hand  carving,  replaces  the 
usual  dentil  course,  yet  gives  the  same  scale,  while 
the  under  side  of  the  corona  is  ornamented  with 
square  clusters  of  balls  at  regular  intervals  after  the 
manner  of  the  mutules  of  the  Doric  order.  The 
Doric  porch,  with  its  delicate  suggestions  of  Adam 
influence,  is  alluded  to  at  length  in  the  following 
chapter.  As  on  many  old  Salem  estates  a  stable 
in  the  rear  of  the  grounds  is  in  complete  accord  with 
the  house,  as  all  outbuildings  should  be. 

Another  square,  gray-painted  brick  house  of  this 
period  that  charms  the  eye  by  the  unaffected  simplic- 
ity of  its  facade,  with  plain  marble  lintels  and  the 
play  of  light  and  shadow  cast  upon  it  by  a  great, 
spreading  elm,  is  the  residence  of  Arthur  W.  West, 
Number  12  Chestnut  Street,  first  owned  and  oc- 
cupied by  Captain  Jonathan  Hodges.  Built  originally 

[90] 


Plate    XL„ — Baldwin-Lyman     House,    92    Washington    Square 

East.      Erected  18 18;   Pickman-Shreve-Little  House, 

27  Chestnut  Street.      Erected  18 16. 


Plate    XLI.  —  Andrew-Safford    House,    13   Washington   Square. 

Erected  1818;   Loring-Emmerton  House,  328  Essex  Street. 

Erected  181 8. 


The   Square    Three- Story   Brick   House 

In  1804  for  two  families,  It  was  converted  to  a  single 
house  by  Wlllard  Peele  in  1845.  At  that  time  the 
present  doorway  and  probably  the  porch  were  added, 
for  both  show  the  influence  of  the  Greek  revival 
in  the  heavier  columns,  the  detail  of  the  capitals, 
the  oblong  transom  and  the  absence  of  leaded  glass 
In  the  side  lights.  The  bracket-like  modlllions  of  the 
cornice  are  also  unusual  In  houses  erected  as  early 
as  1804.  The  handsome  wrought-Iron  fence  and 
stair  balustrades  compare  favorably  with  the  best 
on  Chestnut  Street,  and  the  stable  in  the  rear, 
architecturally  embellished  after  the  manner  of  the 
time,  completes  a  domestic  picture  that  never  fails 
to  elicit  the  admiration  of  all  who  see  it. 

The  Baldwin-Lyman  house  at  Number  92  Washing- 
ton Square  East,  although  erected  in  1818,  retains 
several  of  the  characteristics  of  earlier  days,  notably 
the  symmetrical  arrangement  of  four  tall  chimneys 
In  pairs  at  each  end  and  the  ornamental  picket 
fence  with  architectural  gateposts  which  had  proved 
such  an  effective  feature  of  the  gambrel-roof  and 
square  wood  houses.  The  doorway,  to  which  reference 
is  made  in  the  following  chapter,  reflects  the  designs 
of  earlier  years  in  the  simplicity  of  its  glasswork. 
Much  of  the  pristine  charm  of  the  fenestration  has 
been  lost  through  the  substitution  of  four-paned 
windows  for  the  original  twelve-paned  windows  which 
gave  such  a  pleasing  scale  to  the  facade. 

Palladian    windows,    which    had    formerly    only 

[91] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

graced  stairway  landings  at  the  rear  of  the  house, 
now  began  to  be  employed  above  entrance  porches 
to  elaborate  the  facade  and  lend  added  charm  to 
the  second-floor  hall.  In  this  connection  two  spacious 
mansions  standing  side  by  side  form  an  interesting 
comparison.  Except  for  their  rear  wings  the  Pick- 
man-Shreve-Little  house,  Number  27  Chestnut 
Street,  erected  in  1816,  and  the  Dodge-Shreve  house, 
next  to  it  at  Number  29  Chestnut  Street,  are  sub- 
stantially the  same  in  mass.  Both  are  square,  three 
stories  in  height,  their  hip  roofs  surmounted  by  large 
belvederes  with  classic  balustrades  and  corner 
pedestals,  and  their  heavy  cornices  embellished  with 
modillions,  elaborate  in  their  fine-scale  detail. 

It  is  in  the  ornamental  details  of  the  fa9ade  that 
these  structures  differ  chiefly,  the  Pickman-Shreve- 
Little  house  being,  generally  speaking,  the  simpler 
of  the  two.  The  nicely  carved  keyed  lintels  with 
their  central  vertical  bead  of  diminishing  spheres, 
perhaps  suggested  by  the  lintels  of  the  Mack  and 
Stone  houses,  are  in  striking  contrast  to  the  more 
elaborate  lintels  of  the  Dodge-Shreve  house  with  a 
variation  of  the  Grecian  fret  motive  for  each  floor. 
These  lintels  have  frequently  been  copied  in  modem 
work. 

Both  doorways  and  the  Corinthian  entrance 
porches  have  much  in  common  and  represent  super- 
lative achievements  in  the  use  of  this  order  in  Salem 
architecture.  While  the  balustrade  above  the  Dodge- 

[92] 


The  Square    Three-Story  Brick  House 

Shreve  porch  enriches  it  somewhat,  and  so  definitely 
embraces  the  Palladian  window  above  it  as  virtually 
to  render  porch  and  window  complements  of  a  single 
architectural  feature,  the  Pickman-Shreve-Little 
porch  has  long  held  the  distinction  of  being  the  best 
hand-carved  wood  Corinthian  porch  in  America. 
It  is  as  near  perfection  in  detail  and  proportion  as 
anything  that  has  yet  been  achieved  in  wood.  Both 
entrances  are  enhanced  in  charm  by  delightful 
wrought-iron  hand  rails  and  fences,  also  leaded 
glass  work  of  graceful  pattern,  differing  principally 
in  the  side  lights.  As  in  the  case  of  the  porches,  so 
the  Palladian  window  of  the  Pickman-Shreve-Little 
house  is  simpler  in  detail  than  that  of  the  Dodge- 
Shreve  house,  and  unlike  the  latter  has  above  it  a 
semicircular  fanlight  in  place  of  the  usual  Georgian 
window.  Attractive  as  this  is  in  itself,  its  use  in  this 
location  fails  to  please  as  does  the  simpler  oblong 
window.  Detailed  consideration  of  these  Palladian 
windows  finds  a  more  logical  place  in  the  following 
chapter,  because  of  their  intimate  relation  to  the 
entrance  porch  and  the  architectural  effect  of  the 
doorway  as  a  whole. 

At  Number  328  Essex  Street  the  Loring-Emmerton 
house  attracts  attention  as  an  old  mansion  of  1818 
remodeled  and  much  elaborated  in  1 886-1 887  by 
the  addition  of  a  profusion  of  Colonial  detail  adapted 
from  various  sources  in  Salem  and  elsewhere.  The 
handsome  marble  window  lintels  were  inspired  by 

[93] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

those  at  Number  29  Chestnut  Street,  and  while  the 
Palladian  window  emanated  from  the  same  source, 
the  flattened  arch  has  neither  the  beauty  of  line  of 
its  higher  prototype  nor  the  charm  of  the  character- 
istic elliptical  arch.  The  Ionic  porch  and  doorway 
undoubtedly  were  inspired  by  those  of  the  Peabody- 
Silsbee  house,  a  wood  balustrade  above  being  substi- 
tuted for  the  wrought  iron  of  the  older  porch.  While 
the  door  itself  is  excellent,  the  leaded  glass  about  it 
loses  much  of  the  beauty  of  century-old  work  in  its  ex- 
ceedingly fine-scale  pattern.  At  one  side  of  the  house 
an  elaborate  carriage  entrance  of  obvious  modernity 
exhibits  but  little  of  the  Colonial  spirit.  The  archi- 
tectural gateposts,  however,  have  been  reproduced 
after  Mclntire's  best  manner  and  lend  an  appearance 
of  stately  elegance  to  the  carriage  entrance. 

This  mansion  was  for  many  years  the  home  of 
Honorable  George  Bailey  Loring,  who  was  a  member 
of  Congress,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  under 
Presidents  Garfield  and  Arthur,  and  was  appointed 
Minister  to  Portugal  by  President  Harrison.  On 
several  occasions  he  entertained  President  Pierce 
there.  It  is  now  the  residence  of  Miss  Caroline  O. 
Emmerton,  the  philanthropist  through  whose  gener- 
osity the  "House  of  Seven  Gables"  and  the  "Old 
Bakery"  have  been  preserved,  as  recounted  in  the 
first  two  chapters  of  this  book. 

Among  the  finest  old  brick  mansions  of  Salem  the 
Andrew-Safford   house   at  Number   13   Washington 

[94] 


The   Square    Three-Story  Brick   House 

Square  takes  a  prominent  place.  It  was  erected  in 
i8i8  by  John  Andrew,  the  uncle  of  John  A.  Andrew, 
Civil  War  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  who  was  a 
frequent  visitor.  At  the  time  of  its  completion  it  was 
regarded  as  the  most  costly  private  residence  in 
New  England,  and  no  finer  example  of  the  character- 
istic architecture  of  its  time  remains  in  such  an 
excellent  state  of  preservation.  In  fact,  the  whole 
estate,  embracing  a  stable  at  the  right  in  harmony 
with  the  house  and  a  fine  old  formal  garden  at  the 
left,  exemplifies  as  do  few  others  the  best  that  money 
could  provide  in  Salem  a  century  ago.  The  house 
itself  is  of  noble  proportions,  square  and  having  a 
service  wing  centrally  located  in  the  rear,  the  great 
tall  chimneys,  five  in  all,  being  symmetrically  located. 
Like  the  Peabody-Silsbee  house  the  hip  roof  is  orna- 
mented by  a  balustrade  about  the  belvedere  and 
also  at  the  eaves.  The  balustrade  of  the  belvedere 
consists  of  square  pedestals  and  turned  balusters  of 
classic  outline,  whereas  a  semicircular  blind  panel 
in  the  center  of  each  baluster  section  elaborates  the 
balustrade  at  the  eaves.  Under  the  eaves  the  cornice 
includes  heavy  modillions  and  a  relatively  fine-scale 
ball  molding  reminiscent  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee 
cornice.  Like  those  of  the  Dodge-Shreve  house  the 
nicely  carved  keyed  lintels  were  perhaps  inspired 
by  those  of  the  Mack  and  Stone  houses.  At  the 
side  entrance  a  unique  and  striking  effect  is  created 
by  a  portico  formed  by  fluted  columns  rising  the 

[95] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

height  of  all  three  stories.  This  and  some  of  the 
detail  of  the  interior  finish  show  the  influence  of 
Greek  revival  tendencies.  An  intrusive  glass  con- 
servatory of  recent  origin  under  this  columnal 
veranda  mars  the  former  imposing  effect  of  the 
columns.  The  ornate  Corinthian  entrance  porch, 
referred  to  in  detail  in  the  following  chapter,  is 
the  most  elaborate  and  one  of  the  most  admired 
in  Salem,  and  properly  forms  the  center  of  interest 
of  this  imposing  facade.  As  in  the  case  of  several 
other  brick  residences,  the  walls  have  been  painted. 
Within,  the  house  is  notable  for  its  fine  wood  finish, 
scenic  wall  papers  and  antique  furniture,  to  which 
further  reference  will  be  made  in  Chapter  VIII. 

The  Silsbee-Mott  house,  a  two-family,  semi-de- 
tached structure  at  Number  35  Washington  Square 
and  Number  2  Oliver  Street  West,  erected  in  1818, 
interests  the  student  of  architecture  for  its  unusual 
arrangement,  made  necessary  partly  by  the  irregular 
shape  of  the  site,  and  partly  in  conformity  with  the 
scheme  of  building  two  separate  but  adjoining  houses 
on  a  double  comer  site.  The  left-hand  or  Silsbee  por- 
tion has  an  L-shaped  plan  with  an  entrance  on  Oliver 
Street,  while  the  right-hand  or  Mott  portion  has  an 
oblong  plan  with  an  entrance  on  Washington  Square 
East,  as  shown  by  the  accompanying  photograph.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  this  latter  entrance,  located  as  it  is 
at  the  side  where  this  part  of  the  house  adjoins  the 
other,  lends  a  pleasing  sense  of  unity  and  balance  to 

[96] 


r-«T^  v>' 


Plate    XLII.  —  Mack-and-Stone    Houses,    21    and    23   Chestnut 
Street.      Erected  1814-1815;   Silsbee-Mott  House,  35  Wash- 
ington Square  West.      Erected  18 18. 


Platk    XLIII.  —  Hoffman-Simpson    House,    26   Chestnut  Street. 

Erected  about  1827;  Allen-Osgood-Huntington   Houses, 

31,  33  and  35  Chestnut  Street.      Erected  about  1825. 


The   Square    Three-Story   Brick   House 

the  entire  structure  that  would  not  otherwise  be  the 
case.  In  its  fenestration,  tall  chimneys  and  various 
details  this  house  conforms  to  others  of  the  period. 
The  cornice,  with  its  conspicuous  ball  molding, 
suggests  a  modification  of  that  by  Mclntire  on  the 
Peabody-Silsbee  house,  while  the  window  lintels 
are  like  those  of  the  Andrew-Safford  mansion.  The 
high,  heavy  porch,  and  particularly  the  high,  oblong 
transom  of  the  doorway,  indicate  the  early  Greek 
revival  tendency.  Probably  the  balustrade  on  the 
roof  of  the  Mott  side  of  the  house,  consisting  of  a 
section  of  balusters  in  alternation  with  a  solid  panel, 
is  of  relatively  recent  origin. 

The  more  general  use  of  brick  in  the  construction 
of  dwellings,  together  with  the  increased  land  values 
as  Salem  grew,  led  about  this  time  to  the  building 
of  many  residence  blocks  of  two  or  more  semi- 
detached houses,  with  fireproof  brick  party  walls 
between.  These  were  almost  invariably  of  the 
three-story  squarfe  type  and  usually  hip-roofed,  with 
tall  prominent  chimneys  and  handsome  entrance 
porches.  Of  them  all  the  so-called  Mack  and  Stone 
houses,  numbered  21  and  23  Chestnut  Street,  are 
perhaps  the  most  attractive.  Unlike  many  other 
similar  structures,  the  doorways  are  separate,  each 
having  an  elliptical  porch  well  designed  in  the  Ionic 
order  and  in  happy  accord  with  the  doorways.  The 
original  iron  fence  and  balustrade  railings  of  pleasing 
pattern  remain  in  excellent  condition  and  greatly 

[97] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

enhance  the  charm  of  these  entrances.  One  notices, 
too,  the  ornamental  iron  guard  along  the  eaves 
to  prevent  the  unexpected  sliding  of  snow  from  the 
roof.  The  marble  lintels  and  sills  of  many  ranging 
windows  brighten  the  broad  expanse  of  brickwork, 
and  the  keyed  lintel  is  the  more  welcome  for  its 
nicely  executed  carving,  especially  the  central  verti- 
cal bead  of  diminishing  spheres.  As  indicated  by 
the  four-paned  sashes  on  one  side  and  the  twelve- 
paned  sashes  on  the  other  side,  the  house  is  not 
divided  into  equal  halves,  one  house  having  its 
hall  at  the  side,  the  other  house  its  hall  in  the  center, 
with  corresponding  differences  in  floor  plan. 

The  four-paned  sashes  are  doubtless  of  much  later 
date  than  the  house.  In  the  rear  the  structure 
presents  an  interesting  appearance  because  of  its 
"swell  fronts"  or  semicircular  terminations  the 
width  of  the  rear  corner  rooms. 

This  double  house  was  built  by  Henry  and  John 
Pickering,  about  1 8 14-18 15,  and  first  occupied  by 
them  on  its  completion.  Henry  Pickering  was  a 
man  of  literary  tastes  and  the  author  of  "The  Ruins 
of  PsEStum"  and  other  poems.  His  house.  Number 
21,  was  afterward  occupied  for  a  time  by  George 
Peabody,  a  merchant  prominent  in  the  Russian 
trade,  who  afterward  resided  at  Number  29  Washing- 
ton Square,  now  the  quarters  of  the  Salem  Club. 
John  Pickering,  LL.D.,  the  Greek  lexicographer, 
famous  linguist,  and  city  solicitor  of  Boston  at  the 

[98] 


The   Square    Three- Story  Brick  House 

time  of  his  death,  was  a  son  of  Colonel  Timothy- 
Pickering,  and  for  several  years  lived  across  the  way 
at  Number  i8  Chestnut  Street,  which,  as  already 
recounted,  was  also  the  residence  of  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne  in  1846. 

The  year  1818  witnessed  the  final  development 
of  the  last  type  of  house  which,  in  the  broadest 
possible  interpretation  of  the  term,  can  be  regarded 
as  belonging  to  the  Colonial  architecture  of  Salem. 
After  that  date  the  spirit  of  the  Greek  revival, 
which  dominated  New  England  building  for  two  or 
three  decades  after  about  1825,  began  to  assert 
itself.  Houses  somewhat  Colonial  in  feeling  were 
occasionally  built,  it  is  true,  but  less  frequently. 
Manifesting  no  pronounced  development,  however, 
they  rather  echoed,  and  sometimes  combined  some- 
what indiscriminately,  the  features  of  former  periods 
and  so  lack  the  distinction  of  the  older  residences, 
although  often  not  unpleasing  to  the  eye  nor  lacking 
in  the  substantial  comfort  of  brick  construction. 
When  the  Victorian  decadence  swept  the  country 
with  its  clumsy  fantastic  forms  and  wealth  of  ginger- 
bread work.  Colonial  building  ceased  in  Salem  as 
it  did  elsewhere,  and  not  until  1918,  a  century  after 
its  development  ended,  did  the  Colonial  style  again 
come  into  favor  to  any  considerable  extent.  What 
the  great  fire  of  19 14  meant  to  Salem  from  an  architec- 
tural standpoint,  however,  forms  the  subject  of  the 
final  chapter  of  this  volume. 

[  99  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

It  seems  fitting  to  conclude  the  present  chapter 
with  a  few  representative  examples  showing  how 
completely  the  three-story  brick  houses  erected 
after  1818,  aside  from  those  of  the  Greek  revival, 
owe  their  inspiration  to  earlier  house  types  already 
considered  in  previous  chapters.  The  Hoffman- 
Simpson  house,  for  instance,  at  Number  26  Chestnut 
Street,  with  its  tall  chimneys  and  hip  roof  unadorned 
by  balustrade  or  belvedere,  recalls  several  others 
near  by  in  general  mass.  The  entrance  porch  was 
evidently  inspired  by  that  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee 
house,  yet  lacks  the  elaboration  of  fine  detail  of  its 
prototype.  The  sime  is  true  of  the  cornice  with  its 
ball  molding  from  the  same  source.  The  leaded 
glass  of  the  elliptical  fanlight  and  side  lights  recalls 
that  of  the  Andrew-Safford  doorway.  A  new  and 
pleasing  note,  however,  is  sounded  by  the  simple 
and  effective  carved  marble  lintels,  while  the  side 
porch  and  particularly  the  bay  window  above  the 
front  porch  lend  an  appearance  of  harmonious 
modernity. 

This  house,  now  the  residence  of  Doctor  James  E. 
Simpson,  was  built  about  1827  by  Humphrey 
Devereux,  who  died  there  in  1828.  It  was  for  many 
years  occupied  by  Captain  Charles  Hoffman,  a 
prosperous  merchant  and  a  great  lover  of  flowers. 
His  garden  and  greenhouses.  Felt  states  in  his 
"Annals  of  Salem",  were  among  the  best  in  Salem, 
and  so  they  have  been  maintained  to  this  day,  for 

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The   Square    Three- Story   Brick   House 

Mrs.  Simpson  is  likewise  a  great  lover  of  flowers  , 
and  devotes  much  time  to  them.  The  Dutchman's  \ 
Pipe  in  the  garden  is  now  seventy-seven  years  old. 

Large  gable-roofed  houses,  not  greatly  unlike  the 
Stearns  house  of  Revolutionary  times,  though  of 
brick  and  with  higher  stories,  were  often  built 
and  lent  themselves  readily  to  the  growing  demand 
for  semi-detached  blocks  for  occupancy  by  two  or 
more  families.  A  three-family  block  of  this  sort 
with  handsome  heavy  Ionic  porches  embraces  the 
so-called  Allen-Osgood-Huntington  houses,  numbered 
31,  33  and  35  Chestnut  Street  respectively.  The 
block  was  erected  about  1825  by  Pickering  Dodge 
and  finished  by  John  Fiske  Allen,  who  occupied 
Number  31  for  several  years  and  there,  in  1853,  for 
the  first  time  in  New  England,  grew  and  brought  to 
flower  in  his  greenhouse  the  Victoria  regia,  the  great 
water  lily  of  the  Amazon,  from  seed  obtained  of 
Caleb  Cope,  of  Philadelphia.  The  following  season 
Mr.  Allen  enlarged  his  greenhouse  and  tank  and 
obtained  more  seed  from  England,  including  that  of 
the  Amaryllis^  Nelumbium  and  other  tropical  species 
of  lilies  which  thrived  and  formed  a  rare  collection 
much  admired  by  many  visitors.  Mr.  Allen  published 
the  results  of  his  observations  on  the  Victoria  regia  in 
a  beautiful  folio  volume,  finely  illustrated  by  W. 
Sharpe  from  specimens  grown  in  Salem.  In  1843  he 
erected  graperies  on  Dean  Street  which  were  soon 
greatly  extended   to   inclose   about   three   hundred 

[lOl] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

varieties  of  grapes,  also  peaches,  cherries  and  other 
fruits.  Mr.  Allen's  hybrid  grape  was  an  interesting 
feature  of  his  career.  He  disputed  the  honors  of  early 
hybridization  with  Rogers.  John  Fiske  Allen  is 
mentioned  by  Felt  as  one  of  Salem's  foremost  horti- 
culturists. Previous  to  Mr.  Allen's  occupancy  the 
house  was  for  a  time  the  home  of  Nathaniel  Silsbee, 
United  States  senator  from  1826  to  1835. 

Among  the  early  occupants  of  Number  33  was 
Captain  Charles  M.  Endicott,  of  the  ship  Friendship, 
and  an  experience  from  his  adventurous  life  merits 
recounting  here  as  characteristic  of  the  exploits  in 
which  the  seafaring  men  of  Salem  often  risked  their 
lives  in  opening  up  new  lines  of  trade  in  the  East.  On 
February  7,  1831,  while  the  Friendship  lay  at  Qualah 
Battoo  she  was  attacked  by  Malays  in  a  native  pepper 
boat.  The  first  mate,  Charles  Knight,  and  two 
seamen  were  killed,  while  several  others  escaped, 
although  badly  wounded.  Once  in  possession  of  the 
ship  the  assailants  plundered  her  of  every  movable 
article  and  endeavored  to  run  her  ashore,  but  with- 
out success.  Captain  Endicott,  the  second  mate 
and  four  men  were  ashore  weighing  pepper  at  the 
time,  and,  perceiving  that  the  ship  had  been  captured, 
managed  to  get  away  in  their  boat.  Rowing  twenty- 
five  miles  to  Muckie  they  obtained  the  ready  as- 
sistance of  three  American  vessels  which  set  sail  at 
once.  The  following  morning  a  message  was  sent  to 
the  Rajah  demanding  the  return  of  the  Friendship, 

[  102  ] 


The   Square    Three^  Story  Brick   House 

and  this  being  refused,  the  Americans  began  an  attack 
which  was  answered  by  the  harbor  forts  and  the 
Malays  on  the  ship.  The  Americans,  however, 
manned  their  boats,  boarded  the  Friendship  and  soon 
had  full  possession  of  her  with  what  pepper  had  been 
put  into  her  hold.  A  year  later  the  harbor  was  visited 
by  the  United  States  frigate  Potomac,  and  the  Malays 
were  "severely  chastised"  for  their  attempted  piracy. 

Reverend  Charles  W.  Upham,  mayor  of  Salem, 
congressman  and  author  of  the  standard  work  on 
"Salem  Witchcraft",  was  the  first  occupant  of 
Number  35.  In  later  years  it  was  the  residence  of 
Asahel  Huntington,  mayor  of  Salem  in  1853,  county 
and  district  attorney,  twice  a  representative  to  the 
General  Court,  president  of  the  Essex  Institute 
and  clerk  of  the  courts  of  Essex  County  for  nineteen 
years  until  his  death  in  1870. 

About  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century  there  were  built  in  Salem  several  three-story 
gable-roof  brick  houses,  with  paired  brick  chimneys 
at  each  end  after  the  manner  of  many  gambrel-roof 
houses  of  seventy-five  years  previous.  The  double 
house  numbered  2  and  4  Chestnut  Street,  long  known 
as  "The  Studio",  furnishes  a  case  in  point  and 
presents  a  rare  instance  in  Salem  of  Boston's  so- 
called  "east  wind"  recessed  doorway  with  granite 
steps  running  up  under  an  elliptical  arch  into  an 
outdoor  vestibule.  It  was  erected  in  1826  by  Deacon 
John  Stone,  who  occupied  Number  2,  the  half  on 

[  103  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

the  corner  of  Summer  Street,  and  in  1827  advertised 
the  other  half  to  let  with  the  privilege  of  selecting 
the  paper  and  the  chimney  piece.  For  four  genera- 
tions this  building  has  not  passed  from  the  ownership 
of  a  member  of  the  family  in  direct  descent,  Mrs. 
Richard  Wheatland,  wife  of  the  present  owner,  being 
the  great  granddaughter  of  the  builder.  After 
1869  Number  2  was  occupied  for  ten  years  by  John 
Robinson,  director  of  the  Peabody  Museum.  Later 
the  entire  building  was  rented  for  studios,  among  the 
tenants  being  Philip  Little,  Frank  W.  Benson,  Charles 
Fred  Whitney  and  the  schools  of  Miss  Mary  Mason 
Brooks,  Miss  Mary  Stone,  Miss  Draper  and  the 
Kindergarten  of  the  Misses  Osgood  and  Whitney. 
Both  sides  have  now  been  thrown  into  a  single  house 
for  occupancy  as  a  winter  residence  by  the  owner. 

Resembling  this  structure  in  general  character, 
though  more  nearly  in  accord  with  Salem  architecture 
in  its  heavy  Ionic  entrance  porch,  the  double  house 
numbered  38  and  40  Chestnut  Street  is  of  much 
later  date.  It  was  erected  about  1846  by  Nathaniel 
West,  Sr.,  and  Reverend  James  W.  Thompson.  The 
bay  window  above  the  entrance  to  Number  40  is 
quite  modern,  as  are  probably  the  door  and  elliptical 
fanlight,  for  most  houses  of  the  time  had  oblong 
transoms  above  the  door  like  that  of  Number  38. 
Colonel  Joseph  Andrews,  mayor  of  Salem  in  1854- 
1855,  was  among  the  occupants  of  Number  38. 

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CHAPTER  VI 
DOORWAYS  AND  PORCHES 

A  CCORDING  to  the  chroniclers  of  early  days 
/\  in  Salem  the  first  doors  constructed  there 
were  of  the  batten  type,  common  ledged  doors, 
consisting  of  vertical  oak  planks  nailed  to  hori- 
zontal inside  battens.  Larger  and  heavier  doors 
were  both  ledged  and  braced  with  oblique  battens 
to  prevent  any  tendency  of  the  door  to  sag.  The 
upper  end  of  the  brace  was  bird's-mouthed  into  the 
under  side  of  the  upper  horizontal  batten  near  the 
lock  edge  of  the  door,  while  the  lower  end  was  bird*s- 
mouthed  into  the  upper  edge  of  the  lower  rail  near 
the  hanging  edge  of  the  door.  Such  doors  were 
hung  with  heavy  wrought-iron  strap  hinges  and 
fastened  inside  with  bars  of  wood  or  bolts  of  iron. 
Some  were  opened  from  the  outside  by  means  of 
the  primitive  latchstring,  others  by  quaint  wrought- 
iron  thumb  latches.  A  heavy  iron  knocker,  some- 
times taking  the  form  of  a  ring,  completed  the 
equipment. 

The  front  doors  of  the  better  houses  were  deeply 
recessed  and  had  an  ornamental  arched  weather- 
board above,  providing  a  sort  of  outer  vestibule  to 

[losl 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

shelter  the  waiting  guest  from  the  cutting  east  winds 
that  sweep  the  streets  of  New  England  seaport 
towns  in  winter.  The  sketches  of  the  Deliverance 
Parkman  and  Governor  Brads treet  houses  in  Chap- 
ter I  are  typical,  and  the  door  of  the  latter  house 
illustrates  the  frequent  practice  of  marking  with  a 
scratch-awl  on  the  outer  side  a  diamond  pattern 
corresponding  in  size  to  the  diamond  lights  of  the 
casements,  and  then  studding  the  intersections  with 
iron  or  brass  nails. 

With  the  advent  of  English  classic  tendencies 
in  American  building,  soon  after  Salem  was  settled, 
came  the  square-paned  sash  and  the  framed  and 
paneled  door.  The  former  had  its  effect  on  doors 
as  well  as  windows,  and  the  photographs  of  the 
"House  of  the  Seven  Gables"  and  of  the  old  Hunt 
house  show  the  insertion  of  a  simple  sash  in  the  upper 
part  of  early  doors.  Some  of  the  first  framed  and 
paneled  doors  had  panels  square,  flat  and  sunken 
on  the  back  side,  but  flush  with  the  stiles,  rails  and 
muntins  on  the  front  side  and  with  a  small  bead 
molding  outlining  the  panels.  A  few  of  these  doors 
and  the  beveled  sunken  panel  doors  which  soon 
followed  had  a  batten  back.  Usually  made  in  one 
piece,  the  Dutch  type,  divided  into  two  parts  half- 
way between  top  and  bottom,  was  sometimes 
adopted.  The  photograph  of  the  Narbonne  house 
in  Chapter  H,  however,  shows  a  unique,  four-part 
Dutch  door  for  the  Cent  Shop.     Later,  came  the 

[io6] 


Doorways  and  Porches 

molded  and  raised  panels,  the  most  pleasing  and 
popular  scheme  for  Colonial  doors,  and  early  in 
the  nineteenth  century  the  molded  and  flat  panels, 
of  which  there  are  also  many  examples  in  Salem, 
several  being  bolection  molded. 

Six-panel  doors  were  the  rule,  as  shown  by  nu- 
merous illustrations  throughout  this  book.  The 
panels  of  the  upper  pair  were  square  or  nearly  so, 
the  middle  and  lower  panels  usually  of  identical 
height,  although  occasionally  greater  height  was 
given  to  the  middle  pair,  as  indicated  by  the  sketch 
of  the  Philip  English  house.  Four-panel  doors, 
such  as  that  of  the  Clark-Morgan  house,  are  rare 
in  local  Colonial  work.  For  the  most  part,  Salem 
doors  are  solid,  except  that  just  before  the  adoption 
of  top  lights  several  instances  here  and  there  show 
the  use  of  plain  glass  or  bull's-eye  lights  replacing 
the  upper  pair  of  panels,  as  seen  in  the  "Witch 
House"  and  John  Ward  doorways.  The  better 
lighting  of  entries  which  resulted  from  this  altera- 
tion soon  led  to  the  general  adoption  of  a  simple 
horizontal  top  light  or  transom  above  the  door  proper. 
The  George  Jacobs  and  Sarah  Prince  Osburn  door- 
ways deserve  mention  as  among  the  best  early 
examples  now  remaining.  As  halls  of  ample  size 
replaced  the  tiny  entries  of  former  years,  and  the 
architectural  treatment  of  stairways  demanded  more 
light  to  display  them,  the  former  sash  area  was 
doubled   by   employing   two   simple,    vertical    side 

[  107  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

lights  like  those  of  the  Diman  house,  instead  of  the 
single  top  light.  Eventually  both  were  resorted 
to  and  the  development  of  fanlights  and  the  adop- 
tion of  leaded  glass  followed  as  natural  consequences 
of  the  progress  in  architectural  design,  the  presence 
of  a  few  English  builders  in  Salem,  and  the  refining 
influences  of  frequent  visits  to  the  mother  country 
on  the  part  of  many  wealthy  merchants  and  sea 
captains. 

For  some  time  knockers  and  quaint  door  handles 
with  thumb  latches,  at  first  of  wrought  iron  and 
later  of  brass,  continued  to  be  used  on  framed  panel 
doors,  and  many  of  them  still  charm  the  eye,  as 
no  modern  equivalents  have  succeeded  in  doing,  by 
reason  of  that  fine  grace  of  line  and  quality  of 
finish  found  only  in  hand-wrought  metals.  Each 
piece  is  a  thing  unto  itself  and  possessed  of  individ- 
uality. Heavy  draw  bolts  of  iron  or  brass  replaced 
the  earlier  bars  of  wood  until  toward  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century  great  rim  locks  with  keys 
and  brass  knobs  preceded  the  modern  mortise 
lock.  Glass  knobs  and  bell  pulls  were  not  made 
until  during  the  last  period  of  Salem  architecture, 
but  many  older  houses  have  since  been  equipped 
with  them. 

While  the  first  Georgian  door  trim  consisted  of 
absolutely  flat  casings,  the  simple  architrave  soon 
came  into  frequent  use,  and  presently  flat  caps, 
followed   by   projecting   heads,    complete    entabla- 

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Doorways  and  Porches 

tures  and  pediments  were  successfully  employed, 
as  shown  by  illustrations  accompanying  the  first 
three  chapters.  Felt,  in  his  "Annals  of  Salem", 
states  that  "  the  door  often  had  a  large  porch  before 
it,  with  a  seat  on  each  side  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  family  and  social  visitors.  In  1655,  Edward 
Wharton  had  leave  to  put  up  an  addition  of  this 
kind."  No  examples  of  such  doorways  remain  in 
Salem,  but  the  gable-roof  inclosed  porch  forms  a 
part  of  several  old  lean-to  dwellings,  notably  the 
Rebecca  Nurse  and  Rea-Putnam-Fowler  houses, 
and  the  older  part  of  General  Israel  Putnam's 
birthplace,  —  the  earlier  ones  with  square  and  the 
Rea-Putnam-Fowler  porch  with  oval  sashes  in 
each  side  wall  for  the  admittance  of  light.  Such 
porches  were  the  forerunners  of  the  modern  vestibule 
and  became  a  customary  feature  of  country  houses 
exposed  to  the  unobstructed  sweep  of  winter  winds 
as  a  logical  means  to  keep  the  interior  warmer. 

Previous  to  the  gambrel-roof  houses  of  Provincial 
times  few  doorways  suitable  for  present-day  adapta- 
tion were  erected.  All  of  the  better  examples  for 
three-quarters  of  a  century  up  to  1 81 8,  however, 
will  repay  careful  study.  During  those  years  the 
Salem  doorway  became,  as  in  all  good  architecture, 
the  dominant  exterior  feature,  the  keynote  of  the 
facade.  Truly  utilitarian  in  purpose,  it  lent  itself 
the  more  readily  to  elaboration  for  the  sake  of 
decorative    effect,    and    Salem    designers,    notably 

[  109] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Mclntire,  did  not  hesitate  to  freshen  classic  motives 
with  new  detail,  or  with  classic  detail  employed  in 
new  ways,  the  work  being  done  with  such  skill 
and  good  taste  as  to  command  universal  admiration. 
As  the  entrance  to  the  home,  where  a  welcome  is 
given  and  first  impressions  are  received,  the  best 
Salem  doorways  are  possessed  of  strong  individu- 
ality ;  each  seems  to  symbolize  the  house  as  a  whole 
and  to  express  the  personality  of  its  occupants. 
Happily  devised  and  exceptionally  well  executed, 
Salem  doorways  in  the  main  have  given  a  rare  charm 
and  distinction  to  her  remarkable  architecture. 
The  number  presented  here  is  necessarily  limited, 
yet  the  principal  types  and  best  examples  are  in- 
cluded with  brief  references  to  similar  ones  not  shown. 
The  Lindall-Barnard-Andrews  doorway  typifies  the 
entrances  of  the  better  Provincial  houses  of  wood 
and  the  early  manner  of  utilizing  classic  detail  for 
embellishment.  Pilasters  fluted  in  the  Doric  manner 
and  supporting  a  pediment  depending  entirely  on 
simple  planed  moldings  for  its  ornamentation  pro- 
vide a  frame  of  great  dignity.  The  dark-painted 
door  with  a  narrow,  horizontal  top  light  above  is 
the  original  one  and  an  appropriate  background  for 
a  beautiful  brass  knocker  and  door  handle.  No 
similar  arrangement  of  molded  and  raised  panels 
IS  to  be  seen  in  Salem,  the  long  narrow  panel  being 
its  unique  feature.  The  modern  gateposts  of  the 
wooden  fence,  with  their  peculiar  urns,  also  arrest 

[no] 


Doorways  and  Porches 

attention  because  of  their  exceptional  character.  A 
similar  pedimental  doorway  is  to  be  seen  at  the 
childhood  home  of  the  late  Senator  Nathaniel 
Silsbee,  Numbers  27  and  29  Daniels  Street. 

As  the  central  feature  of  a  brick  fagade  the  door- 
way of  the  Richard  Derby  house,  Number  i68 
Derby  Street,  is  properly  more  elaborate  in  detail. 
Jambs  and  casings  with  rabbets  suggestive  of  rusti- 
cated marble  lend  greater  weight  of  effect,  and  the 
dentils  of  an  Ionic  cornice  enrich  the  pediment. 
The  quaint,  broad  door  with  molded  and  raised 
panels  of  the  utmost  simplicity,  and  also  the  stone 
steps  are  adaptations  of  Georgian  work  overseas. 
Among  the  few  other  doors  having  this  panel  arrange- 
ment may  be  mentioned  those  of  the  Simon  For- 
rester, Boardman  and  Allan  houses.  The  double 
blind  doors  for  many  years  before  the  manufacture 
of  screen  wire  served  as  a  partial  protection  from 
flies,  and  are  frequent  adjuncts  of  Salem  entrances. 
A  recessed  doorway  of  similar  character,  but  having 
one  of  Salem's  familiar  six-panel  doors,  is  that  of  the 
Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood  house.  Number  314  Essex 
Street. 

Of  an  ornate  Georgian  character,  but  much  lighter 
in  effect,  the  famous  pineapple  doorway  of  the 
Thomas  Poynton  house,  Number  7  Brown  Street 
Court,  erected  in  1750,  is  a  splendid  example  of  the 
broken  arch  pediment  elaborated  with  hand-tooled 
moldings  and  fluted  pilasters.     It  is  one  of  the  few 

[III] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

notable  narrow  doorways  of  Salem.     On   a   house 
of  wood,  with   siding   rabbeted   like   the  joints   of 
rusticated  stonework  and  painted  gray,  this  door- 
way   is    at    once    striking    and    beautiful.     Unfor-    \ 
tunately  the  door  itself  is  modern,  yet  were  it  of   \ 
the  best,  the  pineapple,  emblem  of  hospitality,  would  / 
still   hold   attention.     It   is   hand   carved   of  wood 
and  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from  abroad  in 
one  of  Captain  Poyn ton's  own  ships.     For  many 
years  it  was  kept  painted  in  its  natural  colors  and 
the  blinds   above  were  cut  so  as  to  close  without 
marring  it.     This  doorway  has  been  widely  copied 
by  architects,  and  in  191 1  was  removed  to  the  Essex 
Institute  for  better  preservation. 

Generally  speaking  the  Weir  house  doorway, 
Number  6  Downing  Street,  also  erected  in  1763, 
resembled  the  foregoing,  but  was  simpler  in  its  ab- 
sence of  dentils,  pineapple  and  rustication.  The 
sunken  vestibule,  the  arrangement  of  the  modest 
sidelights  and  the  two-panel  door  had  no  parallel 
in  Salem.  This  house  was  destroyed  in  the  great 
fire  of  19 14. 

To  relieve  the  severity  of  the  horizontal  top  light, 
the  semicircular  fanlight  was  developed  toward  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  was  con- 
siderably used  thereafter.  By  breaking  the  base 
of  a  triangular  pediment,  the  semicircle  was  found  to 
fit  into  the  space  thus  aiforded  in  the  most  attrac- 
tive manner.     More  light  was  admitted  to  the  hall 

[II2] 


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Doorways  and  Porches 

and  the  pattern  of  radiating  and  variously  curved 
sash  bars  lent  a  pleasing  grace  to  the  ensemble. 
The  Meek  house,  Number  8i  Essex  Street,  erected 
in  1800,  has  such  a  doorway  in  the  Ionic  order,  with 
fluted  pilasters  and  hand-carved  capitals.  The  cor- 
nice differs  from  the  pure  type  in  that  widely  spaced 
modillions  replace  the  usual  dentils. 

Several  doorways  of  this  general  nature  are 
reminiscent  of  the  high  narrow  entrances  character- 
istic of  much  Philadelphia  architecture.  The  White- 
Lord  doorway,  Number  31  Washington  Square 
North,  erected  in  1818,  suggests  a  free  composite  of 
the  doorway  of  the  famous  Morris  house  in  Phila- 
delphia and  that  of  the  Perot-Morris  house  in  Ger- 
mantown  where  Washington  lived  in  1793.  It  has 
the  slender  Salem  grace  and  excellence  of  propor- 
tions, however,  and  the  fine-scale,  hand-tooled 
dentils  were  much  used  by  Mclntire  and  the  builders 
who  followed  him.  The  engaged  columns  are  of 
generally  Tuscan  order,  the  entablature  Ionic. 
Whereas  the  Meek  house  fanlight  had  an  open 
blind,  this  is  left  uncovered.  The  simpler,  similar 
side  doorway  of  the  Bertram  Home  for  Aged  Men 
at  Number  20  Turner  Street  has  all  the  sturdiness 
of  Philadelphia  types. 

The  pedimental  doorhead  offered  a  logical  and 
ready  motive  with  which  to  embellish  the  gable-roof 
inclosed  porch,  introduced  on  lean-to  houses,  but 
which  continued  as  a  feature  of  many  gambrel  and 

[113] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

square  hip-roof  houses.  Sometimes  at  the  front 
door,  but  oftener  at  the  much-used  side  door,  this 
exterior  vestibule  helped  to  insure  warm  interiors 
before  the  days  of  modern  heating  systems.  In 
most  instances  flat  or  fluted  pilasters  support  a 
simple  Tuscan  pediment.  The  porches  of  the  Hos- 
mer-Townsend-Waters  house.  Number  80  Washing- 
ton Square,  the  Derby-Ward  house,  Number  27  Her- 
bert Street,  and  the  Briggs-Whipple  house,  Number 
38  Forrester  Street,  are  representative  examples. 
The  wider  porches  of  the  Grimshawe  house,  Number 
53  Charter  Street,  and  of  the  Allen  house.  Number 
TJ  Derby  Street,  however,  have  a  pair  of  pilasters 
each  side  of  the  door. 

So  also  has  the  porch  on  the  house  at  Number 
23  Summer  Street,  probably  added  several  decades 
after  the  house  itself  was  erected  in  1745.  It  is 
the  broadest  and  most  elaborate  of  the  inclosed 
Doric  porches  in  Salem,  its  chief  distinction  lying 
in  the  flat-roofed  wings  each  side  of  the  pediment 
and  the  slight  projection  of  the  latter. 

One  notices  the  vertical  plain  boarding  instead 
of  clapboards  and  that  the  oval  windows  have  no 
molded  architrave  casings,  both  characteristics  of 
the  earlier  porches  of  this  type.  In  company  with 
several  other  Salem  porches  the  entire  structure 
stands  directly  upon  the  sidewalk. 

The  inclosed  porches  of  the  Boardman  house, 
Number  82  Washington  Square,  and  of  the  Pierce- 

[114] 


Doorways  and  Porches 

Johonnot-Nichols  house,  Number  80  Federal  Street, 
are  also  Doric  in  feeling,  the  former  being  a  com- 
paratively recent  addition  admirably  made.  With 
the  fence  and  architectural  gateposts  it  forms  a 
striking  picture  in  the  best  spirit  of  eighteenth- 
century  Colonial  design.  The  inclosed  porch  of 
the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols  house,  one  of  the  most 
admired  doorways  in  Salem,  arouses  the  admira- 
tion of  all  who  see  it  as  an  eminently  successful 
adaptation  of  denticulated  Doric,  with  the  character- 
istic repeated  triglyph  in  the  frieze  and  guttae  in 
the  architrave.  To  relieve  the  monotony  of  many 
rectangular  openings,  graceful  oval  sashes  admit 
light  to  the  porch.  These,  together  with  the  clap- 
boarded  side  walls  in  which  they  are  set,  lend  dis- 
tinction to  this  doorway.  The  dark-painted  six- 
panel  door,  with  simple  molded  and  raised  panels, 
is  the  original  one  and  an  appropriate  background 
for  an  old  glass  knob  and  one  of  the  best  brass 
knockers  in  Salem.  As  in  earlier  days  two-part 
green  blinds,  hung  outside  the  door,  serve  as  a  pro- 
tection from  flies  in  summer. 

The  restored  flat-roofed,  inclosed  porch  of  the 
Whipple  house.  Number  2  Andover  Street,  erected 
in  1804,  typifies  the  eighteenth-century  modifica- 
tion of  this  sort  of  entrance.  Employment  of  the 
ever-charming  leaded  side  lights  beside  the  door 
rather  than  oval  sashes  in  the  side  walls  gives  it 
a  pleasing  breadth  and  lights  it  well.     Supported 

[115] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

by  fine-scale  reeded  pilasters,  the  entablature  Is 
generally  Ionic  in  character,  enriched  by  the  balus- 
trade and  pedestals  above,  which  form  an  appro- 
priate setting  for  the  simple  Palladian  window- 
above.  A  touch  of  lightness  and  grace  is  lent  by 
the  lead  work  of  the  side  lights  in  both  windows  and 
doorway.  The  door  itself,  with  molded,  raised 
panels  uniquely  spaced,  and  with  glass  in  the  two 
upper  spaces,  is  of  the  Dutch  type,  opening  in  halves, 
and  displays  some  excellent  brass  hardware. 

A  similar  doorway  of  more  modest  character  is 
to  be  seen  on  the  newer  part  of  the  General  Israel 
Putnam  birthplace,  while  that  of  the  David  P. 
Waters  house.  Number  14  Cambridge  Street,  de- 
signed by  Mclntire,  has  a  Corinthian  entablature 
without  balustrade  and  a  broad  two-part  door, 
three  panels  wide,  often  a  feature  of  the  houses 
of  1810  to  1818. 

It  is  a  thoughtful  host  who  considers  not  only 
his  own  comfort  within  the  house,  but  provides 
shelter  from  sun  and  storm  before  his  door  for  the 
waiting  guest.  And  so  it  was  that  open  porches  for 
the  front  door  began  to  be  erected  while  the  inclosed 
porch  for  the  more  frequently  used  side  door  con- 
tinued in  favor.  For  these,  also,  the  pedimental 
treatment  served  admirably  and  many  of  them  re- 
main to-day,  for  the  most  part  Doric,  severest  of 
the  orders,  yet  by  reason  of  their  breadth  friendly 
doorways,  despite  their  dignified  mien.     Of  them  all 

[116] 


Plate   Llll.  —  Ropes   Memorial    Doorway   and    Gateposts,    318 

Essex  Street,     House  erected  1719,  Fence  1894,  Doorway  1807  ; 

Double  Entrance  Porch,  38  and  40  Chestnut  Street. 

Erected  about  1846. 


Doorways  and  Porches 

no  better  instance  of  pleasing  proportion  and  nicely 
worked  detail  is  to  be  found  in  New  England  than 
the  front  porch  of  the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  Number  80  Federal  Street,  designed  by 
Mclntire.  Exercising  his  admirable  originality  in 
adaptation  he  imparted  a  measure  of  individuality 
to  this  and  other  similar  porches  by  combining 
smooth  Tuscan  columns  set  on  cubical  plinths  with 
a  Roman  Doric  entablature  and  pediment.  Not- 
withstanding this  free  use  of  the  orders,  it  is  one  of 
the  most  admired  of  Salem  doorways,  the  picket 
fence  and  ornamental  gateposts,  with  beautiful  hand- 
carved  urns,  providing  an  architectural  setting  for  a 
vista  of  rare  charm.  Above  the  original  eight-panel 
door,  of  which  there  are  but  few  in  Salem,  a  semi- 
circular fanlight  under  the  porch  roof  admits  light 
to  the  hall.  The  quaint  brass  thumb  latch  is  the 
original. 

Similar  porches,  some  with  inappropriate  modern 
doors,  are  to  be  seen  on  the  Goss-Osgood  house. 
Number  15  Chestnut  Street;  the  Os good-Lander 
house.  Number  5  Barton  Square;  the  William  G. 
Rantoul  house  on  Chestnut  Street ;  and  the  Simon 
Forrester  house  on  Derby  Street,  the  latter  having 
square  columns.  The  porch  of  the  Stearns  house, 
Number  384  Essex  Street,  differs  in  the  addition  of 
flat  pilasters  at  each  side,  which  give  increased 
breadth,  weight  and  dignity,  and  so  in  modern 
adaptation  render  it  better  suited  to  public  than 

[117] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

domestic  work,  unless  the  house  be  one  of  large 
size  and  considerable  pretension.  This  porch  was 
added  by  Mclntire  in  1785,  the  house  having  been 
erected  in  1776. 

As  an  accompaniment  of  the  later  three-story, 
square  houses  of  post-Revolutionary  times,  numerous 
doorways  were  built  between  1800  and  18 18  which 
have  contributed  more  to  the  fame  of  Salem  archi- 
tecture than  any  other  single  exterior  feature. 
Indeed,  the  welcoming  doorways  of  Salem  have 
become  a  figure  of  speech  wherever  Colonial  archi- 
tecture is  known  and  appreciated.  Doorways  usu- 
ally reflect  the  character  of  those  for  whom  they  were 
built;  they  are  the  barriers  one  places  between 
himself  and  his  fellow  men  and  denote  his  attitude 
toward  them.  To  the  breadth  of  the  door,  and 
particularly  to  the  use  of  delightful  leaded  glass- 
work  about  it  is  due  the  pervading  spirit  of  welcome. 
Side  lights  encourage  intimacy  like  hands  extended 
in  greeting;  moreover,  they  increase  the  apparent 
width  of  the  doorway  and  foretell  a  cheerful  hall. 
The  wide,  handsomely  paneled  doors,  graceful  ellip- 
tical fanlights  and  friendly  side  lights  of  the  Federal 
period  in  Salem  not  only  speak  eloquently  of  the 
gracious  hospitality  of  Salem's  merchant  princes, 
but  comprise  the  most  beautiful  of  all  so-called 
Colonial  doorway  motives.  Such  entrances  possess 
characteristics  of  charm  and  distinction  not  seen 
elsewhere,  due  chiefly  to  their  splendid  proportions, 

[118] 


Doorways  and  Porches 

refinement  of  detail  and  precision  of  workmanship, 
while  as  applied  to  the  square  houses  of  the  time 
their  porches  relieve  in  a  measure  the  severity  of 
three-story  facades  with  many  ranging  windows. 

The  inviting  porch  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house,  on 
Federal  Street,  is  notable  for  the  naive  manner  in 
which  free  use  was  made  of  the  orders,  characteristic 
of  much  Mclntire  work.  Its  surprising  harmony, 
charm  of  line  and  proportion,  achieved  with  such 
absence  of  restraint,  furnish  eloquent  tribute  to  a 
keen  sense  of  artistic  propriety  and  originality  in 
adaptation.  The  columns,  with  their  smooth  shafts 
and  high,  square  bases,  both  at  the  front  and  also 
the  engaged  columns  each  side  of  the  doorway, 
suggest  the  Tuscan  more  than  the  Roman  Doric, 
whereas  the  entablature  seems  to  be  a  Corinthian 
adaptation  with  flat,  plain  frieze  and  modillions 
supporting  the  corona.  An  elliptical  fanlight  and 
vertical  side  lights,  all  subdivided  with  exceptional 
grace,  contain  the  original  glass. 

This  entrance,  perhaps  better  than  any  other  in 
Salem,  demonstrates  the  fact  that  gateways  and 
doorways  are  closely  allied  when  treated  in  archi- 
tectural harmony.  The  gateposts,  chaste  and  beau- 
tiful in  design,  are  the  work  of  Samuel  Mclntire, 
who  hand-tooled  them  in  1799  to  adorn  the  entrance 
of  the  Elias  Hasket  Derby  mansion,  where  they  were 
first  erected. 

Mclntire's  rails  and  bases  were  always  extremely 

1 119] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

simple,  with  considerable  elaboration  of  the  gate- 
posts, often,  as  in  this  instance,  four  in  number  in 
front  of  the  house,  with  simpler  posts  for  any  con- 
tinuation of  the  fence  and  for  the  wide  entrance. 
These  high,  square  gateposts  with  shapely  urns  and 
surmounting  flame  motives  are  the  best  and  most 
elaborate  in  Salem.  They  consist  of  a  base,  paneled 
shaft  and  entablature,  the  shaft  panels  containing 
beautifully  carved,  straight-hanging  garlands,  and 
the  frieze  panels  containing  oval  sunburst  medal- 
lions. The  fine-scale  cornice  includes  a  vertically 
fluted  belt  similar  to  the  much  heavier  one  across 
the  facade  of  the  house  at  the  second-floor  level. 
Another  repetition  to  relate  house  and  fence  and  to 
brighten  the  whole  effect  is  that  of  the  garlands, 
one  of  which  decorates  each  vertical  surface  of  the 
door  frame,  while  a  festooned  garland  stretches 
across  the  lintel.  These  garlands,  favorite  motives 
of  the  brothers  Adam,  indicate  positively  their 
influence  upon  Salem  architecture  and  account  for 
its  delicacy  without  weakness. 

Scarcely  less  beautiful  are  the  ornamental  fence 
posts  erected  in  1894  in  front  of  the  Ropes'  Memo- 
rial, on  Essex  Street,  and  their  arrangement  to  form 
an  elliptical  recess  in  the  fence  is  unsurpassed,  the 
ramped  rails  of  the  fence  according  excellently  with 
the  general  scheme.  Like  the  doorway  they  frame, 
the  gateposts  are  Ionic  in  detail,  with  fluted  pilas- 
ters, hand-tooled  capitals,  molded  entablature,  and 

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Doorways  and  Porches 

solid,  carved  urns  very  nearly  like  those  of  the  Cook- 
Oliver  gateway. 

The  doorway  was  built  in  1807  during  a  period  of 
reconstruction.  It  is  of  the  recessed  type  often 
adopted  in  houses  directly  on  the  street,  as  this  was 
prior  to  1894,  and  has  molded  jambs,  attractively 
paneled  to  correspond  with  the  door,  and  fluted  Ionic 
columns  supporting  an  entablature,  with  simple  mo- 
dillions  under  the  corona  after  the  Corinthian  manner. 
A  unique  employment  of  alternate  circles  and  ovals 
lends  distinction  to  the  leaded  glass,  and  altogether 
the  doorway  is  one  of  great  dignity  and  strong  appeal. 
Among  other  recessed  doorways  may  be  mentioned 
that  of  the  Curwen-Osgood  house,  Number  312  Essex 
Street,  erected  in  1765,  and  that  of  the  Eden-Brown 
house,  corner  of  Broad  and  Summer  streets,  erected 
in  1762.  The  former  has  composite  columns  and 
double  modern  glazed  doors,  without  top  light ;  the 
latter  an  entablature  with  Adam  detail  and  an  ellip- 
tical fanlight. 

The  entrance  of  the  Home  for  Aged  Women, 
Number  180  Derby  Street,  is  seldom  equaled  in 
graceful  and  chaste  appearance.  Designed  by  Mc- 
Intire  in  18 10,  it  resembles  none  of  his  other  known 
work,  yet  displays  his  ingenuity  and  good  taste  in 
recombining  classic  detail.  The  fluted  columns 
convey  a  general  impression  of  Roman  Doric,  yet 
they  support  a  Tuscan  entablature  and  are  them- 
selves enriched  at  the  base  by  the  Corinthian  double 

[121] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

torus.  There  is  an  indefinable  charm  about  the 
broad,  flat-paneled  doors  and  the  crystal  glass 
knob,  while  the  pattern  of  the  leaded  glasswork  about 
it  is  at  once  dainty  and  distinctive.  As  a  whole 
its  excellent  proportions  and  the  predominance  of 
white  account  in  large  measure  for  the  strong  appeal 
of  this  doorway. 

At  Number  14  Pickman  Street  the  Kimball 
house  abuts  upon  the  sidewalk,  and  a  porch,  erected 
by  Mclntire  in  1 800,  roofs  over  four  granite  steps 
which  rise  directly  from  the  brick  pavement;  there 
is  no  porch  platform  proper.  Effective  simplicity 
and  free  use  of  the  orders  characterize  the  design. 
The  hand-carved  capitals  create  a  generally  Ionic 
feeling,  but  jig-sawed  Corinthian  modillions  with 
sections  of  fascia  molding  between  replace  the 
customary  dentil  course  of  the  entablature,  and 
the  bases  of  the  smooth  columns  have  the  Corin- 
thian double  torus,  although  the  square  plinth  is 
absent.  Molded  paneling  replaces  the  usual  top 
light,  and  the  severity  of  the  square-paned  side 
lights  is  relieved  by  applied  garlands  on  the  door 
frame,  reminiscent  of  the  Cook-Oliver  doorway. 
A  well-proportioned,  flat-paneled  door  adds  to  the 
pleasing  ensemble. 

Another  much  more  elaborate  instance  of  the 
Ionic  porch  is  to  be  seen  on  the  Peabody-Silsbee 
house.  Number  380  Essex  Street,  erected  in  1797. 
Despite  Mclntire's  daring  innovations  it  is  generally 

[  122] 


Doorways  and  Porches 

regarded  as  one  of  the  best  doorways  in  Salem. 
The  fluted  columns,  with  Corinthian  acanthus-leaf 
enrichment  of  the  neck  of  the  capitals  below  the 
usual  volutes,  impart  a  distinctly  Roman  aspect 
to  the  whole,  yet  the  heavy  cubical  Tuscan  plinths, 
on  which  Mclntire's  columns  of  whatever  order 
usually  rested,  were  retained,  and  a  strange,  though 
none  the  less  pleasing  note  has  been  sounded  by  the 
guttae  of  the  Doric  order  on  the  architrave  and  the 
mutules  under  the  corona  of  the  cornice.  A  ball 
molding,  a  veritable  triumph  of  hand  carving,  re- 
places the  customary  dentil  course,  yet  gives  the 
same  effect  of  scale.  Except  for  rosettes  directly 
over  the  columns,  the  frieze  is  plain.  The  wooden 
door  with  its  delicately  molded  flat  panels  and  tiny 
corner  ornaments,  the  artistic  leaded  fanlights  and 
side  lights,  the  iron  fence,  stair  rail  and  balustrade 
over  the  porch  are  all  distinctive  in  the  extreme 
and  not  surpassed  by  any  similar  work  in  Salem. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  each  of  the  blind  doors  has 
lock  and  frieze  rails  and  a  muntin  corresponding  to 
those  of  the  door  proper. 

Other  similar  porches,  diifering  somewhat  in  de- 
tail, include  that  of  the  Hofl"man  house.  Number 
26  Chestnut  Street,  erected  in  1814;  that  of  the 
Nichols-Shattuck  house.  Number  37  Chestnut  Street, 
erected  in  181 2;  and  that  of  the  Endicott  house. 
Number  259  Essex  Street,  erected  in  1790. 

An  interesting  early  use  of  the  Ionic  order  is  seen 

[  123  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

in  the  veranda  of  the  Saltonstall-Tuckerrnan  house, 
Number  41  Chestnut  Street,  erected  in  181 2,  where 
a  double  row  of  columns  supports  the  roof  along  the 
inner  as  well  as  the  outer  side.  Leverett  Saltonstall 
was  the  first  mayor  of  Salem  in  1836,  and  later  a 
member  of  Congress. 

Of  more  recent  origin,  a  double  entrance  porch 
of  the  same  order  is  an  important  feature  of  the 
Gardner  and  Thompson  houses,  38  and  40  Chestnut 
Street,  erected  about  1846.  The  entablature,  with 
its  prominent  dentil  course,  is  truer  to  the  conven- 
tional Ionic  order  than  the  foregoing,  whereas  the 
capitals  combine  the  Ionic  and  Corinthian  feeling, 
as  did  many  designed  by  the  brothers  Adam.  The 
right-hand  doorway  of  Number  38  is  the  original, 
the  other  a  modern  adaptation. 

From  i8i6to  1818  the  Corinthian  order  predom- 
inated in  Salem  building,  and  among  the  most  effec- 
tive of  the  more  modest  applications  to  the  square 
porch  and  doorway,  the  entrance  of  the  Salem  Club, 
Number  29  Washington  Square,  erected  in  1818, 
deserves  especial  mention.  Cubical  plinths  beneath 
the  columns  and  a  small  ball  molding  replacing  the 
dentil  course  of  the  cornice  recall  the  Peabody-Sils- 
bee  porch  and  indicate  Mclntlre  influence.  Other- 
wise the  conventional  detail  of  the  classic  order 
obtains.  The  doorway  is  embellished  and  closely 
related  to  the  porch  by  a  fine-scale  cornice  across 
the  lintel  supported  by  slender  colonnettes  on  the 

[  124] 


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Doorways  and  Porches 

mulllons,  and  pilasters  on  the  sides  of  the  frame. 
Distinctive  leaded  glass  work  and  wrought-iron  bal- 
ustrades of  handsome  pattern  enrich  the  whole  effect, 

The  entrance  porch  of  the  Baldwin-Lyman  house. 
Number  92  Washington  Square,  and  of  the  White- 
Lord  house,  Number  31  Washington  Square,  both 
erected  in  1818,  may  be  mentioned  as  of  gener- 
ally similar  character,  although  having  wooden 
surmounting  balustrades,  smooth  columns  and  no 
application  of  the  order  to  the  door  frame.  The 
beauty  of  the  former  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the 
picket  fence  and  handsome  architectural  gateposts 
flanking  the  doorway  vista. 

By  way  of  comparison  the  doorway  of  the  Pick- 
man-Shreve-Little  house.  Number  27  Chestnut 
Street,  erected  in  18 16,  becomes  especially  interest- 
ing. Architects  regard  it  as  the  best  wood,  hand- 
carved  Corinthian  porch  in  America  and  speak  in 
glowing  terms  of  the  purity  and  precision  of  the 
detail,  and  of  the  effective  simplicity  of  the  Palla- 
dian  window,  a  feature  which  served  primarily  to 
relieve  the  severity  of  a  three-story  fagade  with 
many  ranging  rectangular  windows,  yet  became 
virtually  a  part  of  the  entrance  of  many  houses 
of  this  period.  The  hand-carved  columns  are  con- 
spicuous for  precision  of  workmanship,  and  the  three- 
piece  door  is  notable  for  the  fact  that  two  pieces  form 
that  portion  of  the  door  in  common  use,  the  third 
serving  merely  to  widen  it  upon  special  occasions. 

[125] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

A  delightful  wooden  balustrade  with  corner  pedes- 
tals effects  a  closer  relation  between  porch  and 
Palladian  window  in  the  case  of  the  Dodge-Shreve 
entrance,  Number  29  Chestnut  Street,  erected  in 
18 17.  This  window  shows  considerable  elaboration 
in  the  use  of  carved  marble  keystone  and  imposts, 
the  beautiful  hand-tooled  casing  about  the  fanlight 
and  the  cornice  carried  across  the  lintel  of  the  window. 
Otherwise  the  doorway  follows  the  scheme  of  the 
Pickman-Shreve-Little  entrance  closely,  the  leaded 
glass  work  and  iron  stair  rail  being  a  little  more 
intricate  in  pattern,  however.  Altogether,  this  door- 
way, perhaps,  has  been  more  extensively  copied 
than  any  other  in  Salem. 

Probably  the  elliptical  fanlight  suggested  the 
elliptical  porch,  and  certainly  the  two  are  very  effec- 
tive when  utilized  together.  The  entrance  of  the 
Barstow-West  house.  Number  25  Chestnut  Street, 
erected  in  181 2,  provides  an  unpretentious  and 
effective  example,  notable  for  its  chaste  simplicity 
and  excellent  proportions.  A  free  interpretation  of 
the  orders  characterizes  the  detail.  The  columns 
are  Tuscan,  except  for  the  base,  which  has  the  Corin- 
thian double  torus  and  a  plinth  of  unconventional 
height.  The  entablature  is  generally  Ionic  except 
that  jig-sawed  modillions  replace  the  customary 
dentil  course.  Handsome  glasswork  of  attractive 
pattern  provides  a  delightful  setting  for  the  broad, 
solid  wood  door  with  its  six  molded  flat  panels  and 

[  126  ] 


Doorways  and  Porches 

plain  brass  knob,  key  plate  and  bell  pull.  Much 
of  the  charm  of  this  doorway  may  properly  be  at- 
tributed to  the  graceful  wrought-iron  balustrade, 
one  of  the  best  in  Salem. 

Reminiscent  of  this  the  porch  of  the  Pickering- 
Mack  house,  Number  21  Chestnut  Street,  erected 
in  18 12,  is  of  a  more  substantial  character  and  has 
Ionic  capitals  and  a  three-piece  door. 

Such  entrances  were  the  forerunners  of  the  more 
tasteful  elliptical  porches  evolved  by  Mclntire  when 
he  realized  the  possibilities  of  a  slender  interpre- 
tation of  the  Corinthian  column  and  entablature. 
Two  excellent  instances  still  remain  for  comparison 
as  found  in  the  Tucker-Rice  porch,  now  preserved 
in  the  Essex  Institute  garden,  erected  in  1800, 
and  in  the  Gardner-White-Pingree  porch,  Number 
128  Essex  Street,  erected  in  18 10.  The  former  was 
removed  from  the  house  at  Number  129  Essex 
Street  when  it  was  remodeled  in  1896  for  occupancy 
by  the  Father  Mathew  Total  Abstinence  Society. 
The  accompanying  photograph,  however,  shows  it 
as  it  appeared  in  1895  when  Professor  Eleazer  B. 
Homer,  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology summer  school,  told  his  class  while  in  Salem 
that  it  was  the  best  proportioned  porch  in  the  city, 
although  its  former  beauty  of  ensemble  had  been 
marred  by  the  substitution  of  inappropriate  modern 
doors  and  surrounding  glasswork. 

The  Gardner-White-Pingree  porch,  probably  Mc- 

[127] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

Intire's  last  work,  still  displays  the  charming, 
original  leaded  glass  and  three-piece  door,  but  it 
will  be  noticed  that  the  columns  of  this  porch  are 
not  fluted  in  the  characteristic  Corinthian  manner. 
Other  differences  occur  in  the  entablatures,  the 
moldings  of  the  Tucker-Rice  porch  being  worked 
to  a  finer  scale,  though  in  this  they  adhere  less  closely 
to  precedent.  The  iron  fences  and  stair  rails  in- 
terest the  antiquary  as  contrasting  the  wrought 
iron  of  the  older  house  with  the  cast  iron  of  the  newer. 
Whereas  the  former  repeats  familiar  Florentine 
motives  ever  welcome,  the  latter  elicits  admiration 
for  the  apparent  stability,  yet  light  and  decorative 
effect  of  the  square,  open-work  gateposts.  Both 
porches  represent  supreme  achievement  in  grace, 
delicacy  and  refinement ;  both  detail  and  proportions 
are  such  as  to  make  instant  appeal  to  any  seeing  eye. 
Undoubtedly  the  most  elaborate  Corinthian  porch 
in  Salem  is  that  of  the  Andrew-Safford  house, 
Number  13  Washington  Square,  erected  in  1818. 
It  combines  the  square  and  elliptical  motives  and, 
according  to  Ross  Turner,  the  artist,  is  one  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  the  architecture  of  the  early 
nineteenth  century.  Perfect  proportion  and  ex- 
quisite workmanship  distinguish  the  fluted  Corin- 
thian columns  and  entablature  with  its  delicate 
denticulated  moldings,  while  above,  the  heavy 
balustrade  and  Palladian  window  repeating  the 
motives  below  provide  further  effective  ornamenta- 

[128] 


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Doorways  and  Porches 

tion.  A  unique  pattern  in  the  leaded  fanlight 
gives  new  interest  to  this  ever-welcome  motive,  but 
because  of  the  four-paned  windows  and  four-panel 
door,  the  pleasing  scale  of  the  Dodge-Shreve  door- 
way is  lacking.  Taken  as  a  whole,  however,  this 
doorway  is  an  architectural  feature  of  refined  ele- 
gance and  exceptional  pretension. 

No  review  of  Salem  doorways  would  be  adequate 
that  fails  to  include  some  of  the  unpretentious  yet 
attractive  examples  which  grace  the  smaller  brick 
houses,  and  the  side  entrances  of  larger  structures. 
Boasting  neither  porches  nor  wood  trim,  other  than 
the  frame,  they  charm  the  eye  with  their  excellent 
proportions  and  beauty  of  line.  Among  the  more 
notable  of  these,  its  framework  set  into  the  arch  of 
a  plain  brick  wall,  the  doorway  of  the  Mansfield- 
Bolles  house.  Number  8  Chestnut  Street,  erected 
in  1810,  attracts  attention  through  its  very  simplicity. 
It  is  a  restful  doorway  almost  devoid  of  ornamenta- 
tion except  for  the  leaded  side  lights  and  elliptical 
fanlight.  As  in  the  case  of  many  other  examples 
of  the  period  the  leaded  work  is  outside  the  glass 
and  not  attached  to  it  in  any  way,  the  glass  being 
cut  to  fit  the  rectangular  or  triangular  divisions  of 
the  sashes.  The  charm  of  this  entrance  lies  chiefly 
in  its  splendid  proportions  and  the  spacing  of  the 
six-paneled  door  with  its  molded  flat  panels. 

Of  still  more  modest  character,  the  side  entrance 
of  the  Home  for  Aged  Women,  which  is  at  Number 

[  129] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

19  Curtis  Street,  has  no  leadwork  In  its  square- 
paned  side  lights.  The  four-panel  door  is  of  later 
origin  with  bolection  molded  raised  panels. 

At  Number  12  Brown  Street  the  Abbot  house, 
erected  in  1800,  displays  a  good  instance  of  a  simple 
doorway  with  a  semicircular  fanlight.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  molded  and  raised  panels  is  uniquely 
pleasing  and  the  double  blind  doors  accord  with  a 
favorite  Salem  precedent.  When  standing  open, 
as  shown  by  the  accompanying  photograph,  they 
lend  a  semblance  of  greater  width  to  narrow  door- 
ways. 


[130] 


CHAPTER  VII 
WINDOWS  AND  WINDOW  FRAMES 

TRADITION  says  that  while  oiled  paper  windows 
lighted  some  of  the  first  small  cottages  of  old 
Naumkeag,  glass  was  employed  for  the  better  res- 
idences after  1629.  It  was  cut  to  diamond  shape  and 
set  in  lead  lines  three  to  four  inches  long  for  use  in  case- 
ment sashes  one  and  one-half  to  two  feet  wide  and 
two  and  one-half  to  three  feet  in  height.  These 
casements  were  employed  both  singly  and  in  pairs, 
sometimes  opening  inward  but  oftener  outward. 
Their  stiles  and  rails  were  jointed  together  by  halv- 
ing, dovetailing,  or  the  mortice  and  tenon,  but  like 
all  sashes  prior  to  about  1770,  including  Georgian  slid- 
ing sashes,  were  pegged  together.  Some  of  \he  case- 
ments had  flat  corner  irons  for  added  strength,  and  all 
were  hung  with  quaint  wrought-iron  strap  or  L 
hinges,  the  latter  so  designed  as  to  combine  the  hinge 
and  corner  iron  in  one  piece.  Such  a  casement  sash 
from  the  Buffum  house,  formerly  on  Boston  Road, 
and  built  between  1642  and  1661,  is  preserved  at  the 
Essex  Institute.  Beside  it  is  to  be  seen  a  diamond- 
shaped  sash,  such  as  was  often  used  in  the  gables  of 
stables    and    sheds,    and    containing    "bull's-eye" 

[131] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

lights,  the  latter  much  used  in  transoms  over  front 
doors  and  sometimes  in  the  top  panels  of  the  doors 
themselves. 

Casements  continued  in  favor  for  about  one 
hundred  years,  yet  meanwhile,  about  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  sliding  sashes  with  square 
panes  of  glass  set  in  rabbeted  wooden  sash  bars  began 
to  be  used.  These  were  put  together  with  mortise 
and  tenon  joints  and  even  the  sash  bars  were  pegged 
in  place  with  wood.  At  first  the  panes  of  glass  were 
only  four  by  five  inches  and  many  in  number,  but 
the  prevailing  size  was  successively  enlarged  to  five 
by  seven,  six  by  eight,  seven  by  nine,  ten  by  twelve, 
twelve  by  fourteen  and  finally  in  sizes  for  four- 
paned  sashes  to  eighteen  by  twenty-four,  twenty  by 
twenty-eight  and  even  larger.  Many  of  the  staid 
persons  of  those  early  days  viewed  this  development 
with  dismay,  regarding  the  tendency  as  extravagant, 
particularly  during  the  scarcity  of  glass  in  Revolution- 
ary tImeS,  and  expatiating  on  the  perils  of  "glass 
houses." 

As  the  size  of  the  individual  panes  of  glass  was 
increased,  their  number  in  each  sash  was  correspond- 
ingly decreased.  Although  numerous  variations 
exist,  the  custom  of  having  an  equal  number  of  panes 
in  both  upper  and  lower  sashes  predominated.  Thus 
the  sketch  of  the  old  peaked-roof  Philip  English 
house  in  Chapter  I  shows  windows  having  fifteen, 
twelve  and  ten  panes  in  both  upper  and  lower  sashes. 

[  132] 


Plate  LX. — Architectural  Relics  at  the  Essex  Institute.      Casement 

Sash  from  Huffman  House,  formerly  on  Boston  Road  ;   Diamond 

Sash  of  later  origin  with  Bull's-eye  Lights ;   Window  Head 

from  the  Elias  Hasket  Derbv  Mansion. 


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Windows  and  Window   Frames 

Fifteen  appears  to  be  the  largest  number  of  panes 
employed  in  a  sliding  sash,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that 
the  restored  "House  of  Seven  Gables"  includes  a 
window  with  an  upper  sash  having  ten  panes  and  a 
lower  one  having  fifteen.  Many  stationary  windows 
in  the  shops  of  early  days,  however,  including  the 
quaint  bay  windows  projecting  only  the  width  of  a 
single  pane  of  glass,  sometimes  had  as  many  as  fifty 
lights.  All  in  Salem  are  now  gone,  alas  !  Probably  the 
last  was  in  a  building  that  formerly  stood  at  Endicott 
and  Summer  streets. 

Twelve-paned  upper  and  lower  sashes  are  found 
on  several  old  dwellings,  notably  the  "Witch  House", 
the  Diman  house,  the  Osgood  house.  Number  314 
Essex  Street,  and  Hawthorne's  residence  at  Number 
18  Chestnut  Street.  The  "Witch  House"  window 
typifies  the  others  and  is  well  shown  by  an  accompany- 
ing detail  photograph.  Eight-paned  upper  sashes 
frequently  accompanied  twelve-paned  lower  ones, 
as  instanced  by  the  Hunt  house,  illustrated  in 
Chapter  I,  the  Samuel  Holten  house  shown  in 
Chapter  H  and  a  window  in  the  house  of  Anne 
Putnam  in  Danvers.  Anne  Putnam,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  one  of  the  "afflicted  girls"  of  1692. 
Although  only  twelve  years  old  at  the  time,  she  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  mischief  that  followed. 
Before  her  death  she  made  a  confession  and  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  church.  The  reverse  arrangement 
with  the  larger  sash  above  is  rarely  found,  the  John 

[  133  1 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Ward  House  being  a  notable  example  before  its 
restoration  with  casement  windows  by  the  Essex 
Institute. 

High  eighteen-paned  windows,  nine  panes  to  the 
sash,  had  a  limited  vogue  and  were  employed  on 
both  floors  of  the  Jeffrey  Lang  house.  The  Narbonne 
house  and  the  Senator  Benjamin  Goodhue  birth- 
place, Number  70  Boston  Street,  illustrate  their  use 
in  connection  with  windows  having  six-paned  upper 
sashes  and  nine-paned  lower  ones  on  the  other 
floor.  In  the  first  instance  the  eighteen-paned 
windows  were  on  the  upper  story  and  in  the  second 
instance  on  the  lower  story.  The  detail  photo- 
graph of  the  Narbonne  window  shows  it  to  be  one 
of  a  relatively  few  having  a  top  rail  as  heavy  as 
the  bottom  rail  and  both  very  broad.  All  early 
windows  had  heavier  sash  bars  and  muntins  than  at 
present. 

Fifteen-paned  windows  with  six-  and  nine-paned 
sashes  were  features  of  the  Rea-Putnam-Fowler 
house,  the  Maria  Goodhue  and  the  Colonel  Jesse 
Putnam  houses,  all  in  Danvers.  They  are  to  be  seen 
on  the  restored  "House  of  Seven  Gables"  and  on 
the  lower  story  of  the  George  Jacobs  house,  the 
upper  windows,  like  most  of  those  of  the  "House 
of  Seven  Gables",  being  twelve-paned  with  six  panes 
to  the  sash.  Sixteen-paned  windows,  eight  panes 
to  the  sash,  are  very  rare.  The  sketch  of  the 
Deliverance  Parkman  house  in  Chapter  I  shows  one, 

[134] 


Windows  and  Window   Frames 

but  most  of  the  windows  in  this  house  appear  to 
have  been  twelve-pa ned. 

In  fact,  throughout  Salem  architecture,  the  twelve- 
paned  window,  six  panes  to  the  sash,  predominates. 
It  is  found  in  some  of  the  oldest  dwellings  now 
standing,  such  as  the  Retire  Becket  and  John  Picker- 
ing houses  illustrated  in  Chapter  I,  and  it  runs 
through  every  succeeding  period  up  to  1818,  and 
is  the  one  favored  in  the  present  Colonial  revival. 
In  the  earlier  houses  the  upper  sash  was  let  into  the 
frame  permanently,  only  the  lower  sash  being 
movable  and  sliding  upward,  but  in  later  years 
double  hung  sashes  with  weights  began  to  be  adopted. 
Large  four-paned  windows  were  not  employed  in 
Salem  architecture  until  the  very  latest  houses  that 
may  be  included  within  the  limits  of  the  broadest 
possible  interpretation  of  the  word  Colonial  were 
erected.  Those  of  the  White-Lord  house.  Number  3 1 
Washington  Square,  erected  in  1818,  may  be  cited 
in  this  connection.  The  smaller  paned  windows  of 
several  older  houses,  however,  have  been  replaced 
by  new  ones  having  only  four  large  panes.  Invariably 
such  disregard  of  period  not  only  upsets  the  scale  of 
the  facade,  but  constitutes  an  anachronism  that 
renders  all  semblance  of  artistic  coherence  impossible. 
The  windows  of  Hawthorne's  birthplace  shown  in 
Chapter  III  and  of  the  Assembly  Hall  shown  in 
Chapter  XI  are  cases  in  point. 

Early  window  casings,  like  those  of  the  door,  were 

[  13s  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

plain  and  flat,  presently  followed  by  the  application 
of  a  square  band  or  back  molding  to  the  outer  edge> 
and  soon  afterward  casings  were  almost  invariably 
molded  after  the  manner  of  an  architrave.  Indeed, 
architrave  casings  have  persisted  to  the  present 
time  and  are  to-day  the  preferred  form  in  modern 
Colonial  work.  At  first,  top  and  sides  of  the  frame 
were  cased  alike,  as  indicated  by  the  Ropes'  Memorial 
windows,  but  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  more  thought  began  to  be  given  to  the 
exterior  decorative  possibilities  of  the  window,  and 
heads  were  placed  above  the  architrave.  Simple 
cornice  moldings  like  those  of  the  Cabot-Endicott- 
Low  house  and  the  Tuttle-Coan  house.  Number  113 
Federal  Street,  erected  about  1800,  soon  led  to  more 
or  less  elaborate  friezes  with  cornices,  which,  in 
conjunction  with  the  architrave  casing,  formed  a 
complete  entablature.  The  handiwork  of  skilled 
carvers  employed  in  the  local  shipyards,  then  the 
most  important  in  America,  their  hand-tooled  mold- 
ings and  carved  friezes  obviously  owe  their  origin 
to  the  English  Georgian.  But  the  English  worked 
mostly  in  stone ;  the  Americans  in  wood ;  and  thus 
the  severe  and  heavy  treatment  of  the  former, 
thanks  to  the  influence  of  the  lighter  and  more 
elaborate  decorations  of  ship  cabins  which  the  same 
men  were  executing,  gave  way  to  the  graceful  and 
dignified  designs  which  we  admire  so  much  to-day. 
The  work  is  done  in  a  masterly  manner,  indicating 

[  136 1 


Plate    LXII.  —  Hoffman-Simpson     Window,    26     Chestnut     Street. 

Erected  1810. 


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3 
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Windows  and  Window  Frames 

thoughtful  adaptation  in  its  delicacy  of  detail  and 
splendid  spacing.  When  we  recall  the  crude  tools  of 
those  days  our  admiration  for  Yankee  ingenuity 
need  know  no  bounds.  We  may  also  marvel  at  the 
remarkably  perfect  condition  of  this  century-old 
woodwork  as  it  exists  in  Salem  to-day. 

Simple  and  effective,  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols 
window  heads  instance  the  use  of  a  plain,  flat  frieze 
below  a  molded  cornice.  The  window  heads  of  the 
Nathan  C.  Osgood  house,  Number  15  Chestnut 
Street,  erected  about  18 10,  are  much  the  same 
except  for  the  four  groups  of  slender,  vertical  flutings 
that  adorn  and  lend  a  touch  of  greater  refinement 
to  the  frieze.  Of  a  still  more  ambitious  character 
the  second-story  window  heads  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
house  are  elaborated  by  hand  carving  in  fine-scale 
detail  with  a  denticulated  cornice  supported  by  a 
flat  pilaster  effect,  toward  each  end  of  the  frieze, 
the  latter  consisting  of  a  central  horizontal  band, 
vertical-fluted,  flanked  by  an  oval  medallion  beside 
each  pilaster.  These  are  believed  to  be  the  personal 
work  of  Samuel  Mclntire  and  upon  their  design  and 
execution  he  focused  the  full  measure  of  his  skill, 
with  the  result  that  there  are  no  window  heads  to 
equal  them  in  all  Salem. 

On  the  Stephen  W.  Phillips  house.  Number  34 
Chestnut  Street,  erected  in  1800,  the  window  heads 
consist  of  entablatures  similar  to  those  of  the  Nathan 
C.  Osgood  house  further  elaborated.   Except  that  the 

[  137] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

flutings  in  each  group  are  more  numerous  and  nearer 
together,  the  frieze  is  much  the  same,  but  the 
architrave  casings  have  a  molding  midway  of  their 
width  in  addition  to  that  along  the  outer  edge.  The 
cornice  has  the  bold  projection  of  the  Doric  order  and 
the  molded  mutules  of  its  soffit  under  the  corona. 
Instead  of  the  conventional  guttse,  however,  small 
round  holes  have  been  bored  into  the  mutules  in 
double  rows  to  form  a  rectangular  pattern.  Just 
below  the  customary  bed  molding  a  prominent  and 
unconventional,  though  admittedly  beautiful  molding 
suggests  a  series  of  tiny  Gothic  arches  and  capitals 
without  supporting  columns. 

Brick  walls  impose  certain  limitations  with  respect 
to  window  frames  not  encountered  in  houses  of  wood, 
although  many  old  brick  residences  in  Salem  display 
interesting  examples  of  attractive  treatment.  Brick 
construction  does  not  permit  cased  frames  to  have  any 
projections  and  a  lintel  or  brick  arch  must  replace  the 
ornamental  head,  often  such  a  pleasing  feature  of 
wooden  construction.  In  the  earliest  brick  houses, 
with  square-headed  windows  only,  the  openings  had 
either  gauged  arches  or  relieving  arches  of  headers 
with  a  brick  core.  The  Richard  Derby  windows, 
however,  with  their  cased  architrave  frames  and 
molded  wooden  sills,  are  of  interest  as  combining 
a  rough-cut  relieving  arch  of  both  headers  and 
stretchers  with  much  of  the  appearance  of  gauged 
work. 

[138] 


Windows  and  Window  Frames 

Half  a  century  later  the  adoption  of  prominent 
white  marble  sills  and  lintels  called  for  simpler  treat- 
ment of  the  frame.  Architraves  were  generally- 
omitted  and  solid  molded  frames  were  placed  in 
the  reveals  of  the  brick  wall.  The  windows  of  the 
house  erected  by  the  Reverend  James  W.  Thompson 
about  1846  at  Number  40  Chestnut  Street  illus- 
trate the  construction  and  the  plain  broad  lintels 
first  used,  but  arrest  attention  chiefly  as  excep- 
tional examples  of  the  high,  narrow  three-sash  win- 
dow with  the  lower  sash  smaller  than  that  above 
by  reason  of  its  square  panes.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  blinds  are  divided  so  that  this  lower 
section  of  the  window,  which  extended  almost  to 
the  floor  level,  may  be  screened  if  desirable.  Three- 
sash  windows  of  this  character  lend  themselves 
well  to  public  buildings  and  are  often  seen  in  mod- 
ern work,  as  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Boston 
City  Club. 

On  the  Hoffman-Simpson  house.  Number  26 
Chestnut  Street,  erected  about  1826,  the  frame 
boasts  only  a  simple  quarter  round,  the  ornamenta- 
tion of  the  windows  being  centered  in  the  delicately 
cut  white  marble  lintel.  Marble  was  much  favored  for 
this  purpose  because  it  harmonizes  with  the  white- 
painted  woodwork,  brightens  the  facade  and  empha- 
sizes the  fenestration.  The  design  of  this  lintel 
is  simple,  refined  and  one  of  the  most  effective 
in  Salem.     Unlike  most  blinds  of  the  period  these 

[  139  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

have  stiles  dropping  more  than  an  inch  below  the 
bottom  rail. 

Among  the  many  interesting  marble  lintels  of 
Salem,  those  of  the  Charles  Sanders  house,  Number 
43  Chestnut  Street,  take  the  shape  of  a  gauged  brick 
arch,  with  scorings  or  flutings  radiating  from  an  im- 
aginary center  below,  which  further  emphasizes 
this  thought.  The  Pickman-Shreve-Little  house, 
Number  27  Chestnut  Street,  displays  a  similar  lintel, 
smooth  of  surface,  however,  but  elaborated  by  an 
ornamental  keystone  with  nicely  cut  vertical  dimin- 
ishing bead  and  torus  moldings.  Remarkably  simple 
and  effective,  the  flat  arch  lintel  with  voussoirs  and 
keystone  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee  house.  Number  380 
Essex  Street,  has  no  surface  ornamentation  and  de- 
pends entirely  upon  the  shape  of  its  parts  to  form  a 
decorative  pattern.  Most  elaborate  of  all,  the  lintels 
of  the  Dodge-Shreve  house,  Number  29  Chestnut 
Street,  attract  attention  not  only  for  their  contour 
but  for  the  nicely  chiseled  pattern  reminiscent  of  a 
well-known  Grecian  fret. 

To  reduce  their  apparent  height,  three-story  houses 
of  both  wood  and  brick  were  foreshortened  with 
square  windows.  Single  and  two-piece  sashes  were 
both  employed  and  the  number  of  panes  differed 
considerably.  The  windows  of  the  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  house  well  illustrate  the  three-pane  upper  and 
six-pane  lower  sash  arrangement  which  was  a  feature 
of  several  of  Salem's  best  houses.   Still  more  common 

[  140] 


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Windows  and  Window  Frames 

was  the  double  six-pane  sash  arrangement,  exempli- 
fied by  the  Hosmer-Townsend-Waters  house,  Num- 
ber 80  Washington  Square.  The  Grimshawe  house, 
Number  53  Charter  Street,  displays  unusual  double 
eight-pane  sashes,  the  Gardner- White-Pingree  house, 
Number  128  Essex  Street,  equally  unusual  double 
three-pane  sashes.  Solid  sashes  are  to  be  seen  on  the 
birthplace  of  General  Frederick  W.  Lander,  Number 
3  Barton  Square,  and  the  William  G.  Rantoul  house 
on  Chestnut  Street,  the  former  having  six  and  the 
latter  nine  panes.  Nine-paned  solid  sashes  were  also 
employed  on  the  Briggs-Whipple  house.  Number  38 
Forrester  Street,  and  on  the  Crowninshield-Devereux- 
Waters  house.  Number  72  Washington  Square. 

The  elaborate  Palladian  windows  which  became 
such  an  important  and  beautiful  accompaniment 
of  square  brick  houses  have  already  been  illustrated 
and  referred  to  in  Chapter  V,  but  this  chapter 
would  hardly  be  complete  without  including  mention 
of  two  of  the  many  attractive  round-headed  windows 
which  lighted  the  stairway  landings  of  earlier  gam- 
brel-roof  and  square  wood  houses.  The  hall  window 
of  the  Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood  house,  Number  314 
Essex  Street,  erected  in  1773,  commends  itself  for  ef- 
fective simplicity,  while  that  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  house  possesses  the  greater  refinement  of 
the  keyed  arch,  the  application  of  blinds  and,  most 
important  of  all,  the  fanlight  motive  of  the  upper 
sash  bars.    Such  windows  not  only  charm  the  eye  as 

[1411 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

interior  features  but  relieve  the  severity  of  many- 
ranging  square-headed  windows  and  provide  a  center 
of  interest  for  the  rear  elevation  corresponding  to 
the  doorway  of  the  fagade  that  lends  grace  and 
distinction  to  an  otherwise  nondescript  aspect  of  the 
house. 


[  142] 


Plate  LXVI.  —  A  Chamber  in  the  Cook-Oliver  House.     Erected 

1804;   Paneled  Wall,  Parlor  at  "The  Lindens,"  Danvers. 

Erected  1754. 


30 
30 


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> 


CHAPTER  VIII 

INTERIOR  WOOD   FINISH 

WHITE-PAINTED  interior  woodwork,  one 
of  the  greatest  charms  of  the  Colonial 
house,  provides  the  only  architectural  background 
that  conveys  satisfactorily  the  sense  of  mellow 
warmth  and  graceful  dignity  in  eighteenth-century 
furniture  of  mahogany  and  other  dark  woods.  It 
constitutes  the  setting  in  which  the  furniture  gems  of 
the  room  are  displayed.  Bright  and  cheerful,  chaste 
and  beautiful,  it  emphasizes  the  grace  of  line  and 
richness  of  color  of  everything  before  it,  yet  seldom 
forces  itself  into  undue  prominence  by  reason  of  its 
color  contrast  or  detail.  Indeed  this  treatment  of 
interiors  has  stood  the  test  of  time  and  we  now 
appreciate  what  excellent  taste  our  great-grand- 
fathers manifested  in  depending  upon  its  subtle 
influence  to  display  the  beauties  of  their  rare  pieces 
of  furniture  —  Chippendale,  Heppelwhite,  Sheraton 
and  Adam,  brought  from  overseas. 

The  admirable  work  of  Mclntire  and  others  in 
Salem  indicates  conclusively  that  the  possibilities 
of  painted  white  pine  and  other  soft  woods  are  fully 
as  great  as  those  of  any  hard  woods.    Effects  must 

[143] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

be  differently  achieved,  however.  The  natural  grain 
of  the  wood  is  concealed  by  painting  so  that  broad 
flat  surfaces  and  simple  moldings  would  become 
monotonous.  Beauty  of  form  must  be  imparted 
as  a  substitute  for  the  beauty  of  wood  grain  which  Is 
the  chief  ornamentation  of  natural  wood  finish.  The 
motives  and  detail  of  exterior  ornamentation  as  found 
in  the  several  classic  orders,  such  as  the  entablature, 
column  and  pedestal,  the  round  and  elliptical  arch, 
moldings,  carefully  spaced  panels  and  appropriate 
carving,  or  its  equivalent  in  applied  ornament,  were 
therefore  brought  to  bear  upon  the  interior  wood- 
work in  such  a  manner  as  to  delight  the  eye  yet  not 
to  detract  unduly  from  the  furnishings  of  the  room. 
And  the  charm  of  much  of  the  resulting  woodwork 
indicates  an  early  realization  of  the  fact  that  a  nice 
balance  between  plain  surface  and  decoration  is  as 
important  as  the  decoration  itself.  It  was  in  the 
design  and  execution  of  this  woodwork  that  Mclntire 
and  the  other  skilled  wood-carvers  excelled ;  and  to 
the  fact  that  they  embraced  the  best  carvers  in  the 
country,  attracted  thither  by  the  local  shipyards, 
then  among  the  largest  In  America,  is  attributed 
the  precision  of  the  work  and  a  lightness,  grace  and 
ingenuity  of  adaptation  not  found  in  contemporary 
work  elsewhere. 

Fireplaces  and  stairways,  the  principal  architec- 
tural features  of  Interiors,  were  very  properly 
elaborated  considerably  beyond  the  somewhat  nega- 

[  144] 


Interior   Wood  Finish 

tive  character  of  background  accessories.  Being 
virtually  furnishings  as  well  as  parts  of  the  house, 
the  application  of  tasteful  ornamentation  to  such 
important  forms  of  utility  and  necessity  always 
seems  amply  justified.  Indeed,  each  is  a  subject  in 
itself,  as  indicated  by  the  fact  that  to-day,  as  a 
century  and  more  ago,  stair  building  and  mantel 
construction  remain  independent  trades  quite  apart 
from  ordinary  joinery.  For  that  reason  two  separate 
chapters  will  be  reserved  for  these  important  de- 
partments of  Colonial  architecture,  the  present 
chapter  being  devoted  to  interior  woodwork  in 
general. 

What  the  interior  woodwork  of  two  of  the  earliest 
seventeenth-century  houses  remaining  in  Salem  now 
consists  of  has  already  been  shown  in  the  first  two 
chapters  of  this  volume.  Passing  on,  therefore,  to 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it  is 
found  that  the  principal  rooms  of  pretentious 
mansions,  such  as  the  parlor  at  "The  Lindens", 
Danvers,  were  entirely  paneled  up  on  all  sides.  This 
stately  room,  as  was  to  be  expected,  since  it  was  the 
work  of  an  English  architect,  was  finished  in  the 
typical  Georgian  manner,  with  heavy  fluted  Corin- 
thian pilasters  standing  on  low  paneled  pedestals 
and  supporting  an  elaborate  entablature  in  which  a 
dentil  course,  an  ^%%  and  dart  ovolo,  a  cyma  reversa 
of  leaf  pattern  and  a  bead  and  reel  were  prominent. 
The  casings  of  the  large  and  handsomely  paneled 

[i4Sl 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

doors  repeated  the  architrave  above,  while  the  great 
rim  locks  of  brass  and  prominent  wrought-iron  L 
hinges  are  of  quaint  interest  and  characteristic  of 
the  time.  The  heavily  bolection-molded  wall  panels 
please  the  eye  with  their  variety  of  shape  and  size, 
and  one  remarks  that  the  chimney  piece  with  its 
two  horizontal  panels,  the  larger  above  the  smaller, 
has  no  mantelshelf  as  was  for  a  time  the  custom. 
As  in  many  other  houses  this  wall  is  treated  according 
to  an  absolutely  symmetrical  arrangement,  with  the 
fireplace  centrally  located  and  a  door  equidistant  at 
each  side.  The  woodwork,  although  of  white  pine, 
has  been  painted  to  simulate  the  appearance  of  old 
mahogany.  Altogether  this  is  probably  the  finest 
Provincial  interior  in  Greater  Salem. 

About  this  time  the  use  of  hand-blocked  wall  paper 
began  to  be  more  general,  and  a  favorite  treatment 
of  Colonial  interiors,  including  halls,  parlors,  dining 
rooms  and  even  the  principal  bedrooms  of  large 
houses,  combined  a  cornice  or  often  a  cornice  and 
frieze,  and  sometimes  a  complete  entablature  and  a 
paneled  wainscot  or  a  flat  dado  with  surbase  and 
skirting.  The  dado  was  always  relatively  low  as 
compared  with  the  paneled  wainscot.  Later  the 
simple  skirting  only  was  frequently  employed  even 
in  the  principal  rooms  of  the  better  houses.  Numerous 
accompanying  illustrations  show  it  with  the  dado, 
while  the  interiors  of  the  Richard  Derby  house,  the 
Captain   Edward  Allen   house   and   several   of  the 

[  146 1 


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! 

Plate  LXVIII.  —  Paneled  Wall,  Richard  Derby  House,  i68  Derby 

Street.      Erected  1761  -,   Embrasured  Windows  and  Seats 

of  the  Same  Room. 


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Interior   Wood  Finish 

halls  Illustrated  in  Chapter  IX  show  it  with  the 
paneled  wainscot.  It  constituted  a  pleasing  and 
consistent  application  of  the  classic  orders  to  interior 
walls,  the  dado,  the  wall  above  it  and  whatever 
portion  of  the  entablature  happened  to  be  employed 
corresponding  to  the  pedestal,  shaft  and  entablature 
of  the  complete  order  respectively.  In  a  room  so 
treated  the  dado  became  virtually  a  continuous 
pedestal  with  a  base  or  skirting  and  a  surbase  above 
the  die  or  plane  face  of  the  pedestal.  Sometimes  this 
surbase  was  merely  a  horizontal  molding  or  group 
of  moldings  comprising  a  fillet  with  a  cyma  reversa 
beneath.  Oftener  it  resembled  the  upper  fascia  or 
the  complete  architrave  of  the  various  orders,  as  in 
accompanying  illustrations  in  the  Putnam-Hanson, 
Pitman,  Andrew-SafFord,  Salem  Club,  Cook-Oliver 
and  Pierce- Johonnot-NIchols  houses. 

Again  the  upper  fascia  was  embellished  with  a 
characteristic  Grecian  fret  nicely  hand-carved,  or 
with  vertical  reedings  or  flu  tings.  The  latter  may  be 
continuous,  as  in  the  Cook-Oliver  hall ;  in  groups  of 
five  to  seven  or  so  with  sections  of  plain  fascia  between 
them,  as  in  the  Crownlnshield-Devereux- Waters  hall 
and  the  east  parlor  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot-NIchols 
house ;  or  still  further  enriched  by  an  elliptical  con- 
ventionalized flower  medallion,  carved  or  of  composi- 
tion, applied  in  alternation  with  the  reeded  or  fluted 
groups.  A  handsome  surbase  of  the  latter  type  in 
connection  with  a  flat  dado  and  molded  skirting 

[147] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

is  to  be  seen  in  the  east  front  chamber  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house.  The  photograph  also  shows 
well  the  detail  of  the  architrave  casings  of  the  embra- 
sured windows  and  the  manner  in-  which  the  shutters 
fold  into  pockets  at  each  side.  A  somewhat  similar 
surbase  in  connection  with  a  paneled  wainscot  of 
later  date  than  those  previously  mentioned  is  a 
feature  of  one  of  the  chambers  of  the  Derby-Crownin- 
shield-Rogers  house,  Number  202j^  Essex  Street. 
The  festoon  scheme  of  the  surbase  in  the  hall  of 
the  Home  for  Aged  Women  exemplifies  a  pleasing 
variation  from  the  more  common  continuous  series 
of  vertical  flutings. 

For  the  most  part  the  surmounting  cornice  and 
frieze  of  the  room  was  of  wood  beautifully  molded 
and  hand  carved,  the  architrave  usually  being  omit- 
ted unless  the  walls  were  entirely  paneled,  as  in  the 
parlor  of  "The  Lindens."  In  a  chamber  of  the  Derby- 
Crowninshield-Rogers  house,  however,  is  to  be  seen  a 
cornice  and  frieze  entirely  of  plaster  work  according 
to  designs  by  Mclntire,  including  familiar  classic 
detail  in  which  the  q%^  and  dart  molding,  scroll 
and  interlacing  fillet  guilloche  are  prominent.  Such 
cornices  were  frequently  employed  in  the  houses  of 
the  early  nineteenth  century  and  thereafter.  Later, 
when  chandeliers  for  candles  began  to  be  used  in 
private  houses,  they  were  hung  from  ornamental 
centerpieces  of  plaster  on  the  ceiling,  the  motives 
usually  being  circles,  festooned  garlands  and  acanthus 

[148] 


Interior    Wood  Finish 

leaves.  Such  a  centerpiece,  with  a  simple  plaster 
cornice  and  ornamental  treatment  of  the  ceiling  at 
each  corner  of  the  room,  is  a  feature  of  the  parlor  of 
the  Andrew-Saiford  house. 

The  Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers  house  mentioned 
above,  its  street  floor  converted  into  stores,  is  to-day 
but  a  mere  echo  of  its  former  elegance,  yet  the  upper 
portion  still  shows  that  it  was  an  interesting  example 
of  the  early  square  town  house,  with  a  virtually  flat 
roof.  The  chambers  of  the  second  and  third  floors 
still  contain  much  excellent  interior  finish,  particu- 
larly mantels  such  as  those  mentioned  in  the  following 
chapter  and  which  are  still  admired  by  all  who  ap- 
preciate good  architecture,  despite  the  bad  treatment 
to  which  they  have  been  subjected  by  tenants. 

Shortly  after  the  erection  of  his  house  about  1800, 
after  plans  by  Mclntire,  it  was  occupied  by  Ezekiel 
Hersey  Derby,  a  son  of  Elias  Hasket  Derby,  Salem's 
greatest  merchant.  Not  having  the  family  love  of 
adventures  at  sea,  however,  he  soon  moved  to  the 
family  estate  in  South  Salem  and  devoted  himself  to 
"horticulture,  later  exhibiting  to  his  friends,  among 
many  other  interesting  plants  and  garden  effects,  the 
first  true  specimen  of  the  night-blooming  cereus  ever 
shown  in  Salem  and  a  delightful  little  pond  bordered 
with  bald  cypresses,  which  remained  until  very 
recently."  His  town  house  then  became  the  last 
residence  in  Salem  of  Honorable  Benjamin  W. 
Crowninshield  before  moving  to  Boston,  and  was  last 

[  149] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

occupied  as  a  winter  residence  by  Richard  S.  Rogers, 
a  wealthy  merchant  in  the  foreign  trade,  whose 
splendid  summer  home  on  a  farm  in  Peabody,  also 
designed  by  Mclntire,  is  now  known  as  "Oak  Hill" 
and  occupied  as  a  summer  residence  by  his  son's 
widow,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Rogers. 

In  most  of  the  better  houses  during  the  Provincial 
period  important  rooms  had  paneled  wainscots, 
papered  walls  and  molded  cornices  like  those  shown 
in  the  Richard  Derby  house.  A  fireplace  with  paneled 
chimney  piece  was  an  important  feature  of  most 
rooms,  and  the  entire  wall  including  it  was  often 
completely  paneled  up,  closely  relating  the  fireplace, 
doors  or  windows  in  a  definite  architectural  scheme. 
Summer  beams  were  cased  and  molded  like  the 
cornice,  and  the  architrave  casings  of  the  windows 
were  brought  into  engagement  with  its  soffit.  Embra- 
sured windows  with  two-part  paneled  shutters  folding 
into  pockets  at  each  side  and  seats  jutting  somewhat 
into  the  room  were  the  rule,  particularly  in  brick 
houses,  as  in  the  present  instance.  The  simple  and 
effective  mantel  appears  to  be  of  later  date  than  the 
bolection  molded  paneling  over  the  chimney  breast, 
as  the  lower  panel  was  obviously  cut  to  permit  its  use. 

But  the  west  or  Georgian  parlor  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house  is  without  question  the  most 
notable  instance  in  Salem  of  this  architectural  treat- 
ment of  the  fireplace  wall  of  the  room  with  wood 
paneling   throughout.      Along   Georgian    lines    and 

[ISO] 


Plate  LXX.  —  East  Front  Chamber,  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  House. 

Finished  1801  ;   Plaster  Cornice  and  Frieze,  Derby-Crowninshield- 

Rogers  House.      Erected  1800. 


Plate  LXXI.  —  West  or  Georgian  Parlor,  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 

House.      Erected  1782;   Embrasured  Windows  and  Seats 

of  the  Same  Room. 


Interior    Wood  Finish 

decidedly  substantial  in  character,  it  is  essentially 
simple  in  conception  and  graceful  in  form  and  pro- 
portion. A  flat  dado  with  molded  skirting  and  sur- 
base,  also  a  heavy  cornice,  surround  the  room  and 
serve  to  combine  its  several  features  into  a  unified 
whole.  First  attention  properly  goes  to  the  chimney 
piece,  and  this  is  fully  treated  in  Chapter  X.  Its  princi- 
pal moldings  are  repeated  in  the  cornice  and  the  door- 
heads.  There  is  the  same  cymatium  and  corona,  the 
same  ovolo  enriched  with  the  exquisitely  carved  e,%% 
aiid  dart  motive,  used  without  the  customary  bead 
and  reel,  while  beneath  in  respective  order  occur  the 
familiar  classic  dentil  course  and  simple  ogee  molding. 
All  are  executed  in  a  masterly  manner,  the  proportions 
being  well  calculated  and  the  precision  of  the  hand 
tooling  remarkably  well  maintained. 

Both  the  doors  and  embrasured  windows  of  this 
room  merit  careful  study,  the  former  for  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  molded  panels,  the  architrave  casings, 
the  striking  heads  with  the  returns  of  the  moldings 
and  the  contour  of  the  ends  of  the  flat  frieze  suggesting 
the  cavetto  frieze  of  the  Roman  Composite  and 
Italian  Corinthian  orders.  Attention  is  also  directed 
to  the  delightfully  quaint  hardware,  particularly  the 
brass  drop  handles  used  in  connection  with  great 
rim  locks  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  door.  Were  it  not 
otherwise  definitely  established,  the  wrought-iron  H 
and  L  hinges  would  indicate  positively  the  eighteenth, 
century  character  of  the  work.     The  embrasured 

[iSi] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

windows  with  built-in  seats  beneath  differ  in  only 
minor  particulars  from  those  of  the  Richard  Derby 
house. 

About  1800  and  thereafter  it  became  the  custom 
to  make  the  fireplace  in  the  principal  rooms  the 
center  of  an  absolutely  symmetrical  arrangement, 
placing  it  between  two  identical  windows  of  an  outer 
wall  or  doorways  of  an  inner  wall.  Often,  as  in  the 
Putnam-Hanson  house,  Number  94  Boston  Street, 
erected  before  1800,  one  of  these  doors  opened  into 
an  adjoining  room  and  the  other  into  a  closet.  Some- 
times, too,  a  false  door  was  employed  merely  to  pre- 
serve the  balance.  Not  only  is  the  mantel  of  this 
room,  with  its  applied  basket  of  fruit  and  flowers 
on  the  frieze  painted  in  natural  colors,  one  of 
simplicity  and  excellent  proportion,  but  the  old 
scenic  wall  paper  depicting  life  in  the  Orient  at  that 
time  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  best  preserved 
in  Salem.  As  in  many  other  houses  a  cast-iron  hob 
grate  with  classic  ornament  in  the  Ionic  order  now 
fills  the  original  fireplace  opening. 

In  a  room  of  the  Pitman  house,  erected  at  Number 
4  Boston  Street  before  1800,  and  which  was  destroyed 
in  the  great  fire  of  1914,  this  symmetrical  treatment 
of  the  principal  wall  of  the  room  took  the  unusual 
form  of  two  closet-like  recesses  reached  through 
round  headed  and  keyed  arches  without  doors  each 
side  of  a  projecting  chimney  piece.  Above  a  mantel 
of  chaste  simplicity  depending  chiefly  upon  a  delight- 

[152] 


Interior    Wood  Finish 

fully  proportioned  dentil  course  to  give  it  scale  and 
distinction,  the  overmantel  consists  of  a  great  frame 
the  full  width  of  the  chimney  breast,  including  an 
architrave  molding  enriched  with  a  series  of  iine-scale 
vertical  reedings.  Figured  wall  paper  like  that  of  the 
rest  of  the  room  fills  the  space  within  the  frame. 
Quaintjandirons  such  as  those  seen  in  the  accom- 
panying illustration,  representing  dwarf  human  fig- 
ures, are  rarely  to  be  found  in  Salem  or  elsewhere. 

Two  more  excellent  instances  of  the  symmetrical 
treatment  of  the  fireplace  wall  in  bedchambers  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house. 
The  east  front  chamber,  finished  in  1801,  pleases  the 
eye  particularly  with  its  refined  and  graceful  Adam 
detail  to  which  minute  reference  is  made  in  Chapter 
X,  while  a  chamber  on  the  third  floor,  containing  an 
exceptionally  modest  mantel,  boastnig  no  cornice  and 
having  only  a  skirting  about  the  walls,  possesses  a 
quaint  charm  that  is  altogether  delightful.  In  both 
instances  clothes  closets  at  each  side  project  several 
inches  into  the  room,  and  the  chimney  piece  and 
mantel  respectively  occupy  the  recess  between  them. 
It  is  interesting  to  notice  in  the  former  room  that 
the  cymatium  of  the  cornice  and  the  shelf  of  the 
mantel  are  identical,  and  that  the  favorite  Mclntire 
dentil  course,  consisting  of  a  double  denticulated 
Grecian  fret,  is  used  in  both ;  the  vertical  reeded 
ovolo  of  the  cornice,  however,  being  omitted  from 
the  mantel.    Rare  old  mahogany  furniture  and  other 

[153] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

antiques  preserve  the  atmosphere  of  the  first  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

In  direct  contrast  to  these  recessed  mantels  may  be 
mentioned  the  boldly  projecting  scheme  in  the  dining 
room  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house,  also  designed  by 
Mclntire,  and  in  the  chamber  above.  This  construc- 
tion is  of  course  necessary  when  the  fireplace  is  located 
on  an  outside  wall,  and  while  it  cuts  into  the  floor 
area  it  is  by  no  means  without  its  compensations. 
Thrusting  itself  into  the  room  as  it  does  it  enables  a 
mantel  of  modest  character  to  give  much  of  the 
stately  effect  of  a  costly  chimney  piece,  particularly 
when  a  mantel  mirror  or  large  painting  hangs  over  the 
chimney  breast.  As  in  the  present  instance  an  oppor- 
tunity is  often  afforded  for  built-in  window  seats  of 
great  charm. 

The  refinement  of  the  architrave  casings  of  door- 
ways and  windows  and  the  nicely  paneled  doors  are 
prominent  features  of  these  rooms  which  at  once 
arrest  attention.  Both  have  flat  dados  with  molded 
surbase  and  skirting,  and  there  is  a  certain  similarity 
in  the  mantels,  that  of  the  dining  room  being  properly 
richer  in  detail  than  the  one  above.  The  cornice,  with 
the  double  denticulated  Grecian  fret  again,  and  the 
frieze,  with  groups  of  nine  vertical  reeds  at  regular 
intervals,  exemplify  Mclntire's  success  in  achieving 
refined  and  distinctive  effects  with  simple  motives. 
The  continuous  series  of  reedings  of  the  architraves 
and  surbase  in  this  room  greatly  enrich  the  detail. 

[154] 


Plate    LXXII.  —  Mantel    and    Side  of    Room,    Putnam-Hanson 

House,  94  Boston  Street.      Erected  before  1800;   Mantel  and 

Side  of  Room,  Pitman  House,  4  Boston  Street. 

Erected  Before  1800.      Burned  19 14. 


Plate   LXXIII.  —  Dining  Room,  Cook-Oliver   House,  142   Fed- 
eral Street.      Erected  1804;   Private  Dining  Room,  Salem  Club, 
29  Washington  Square.      Erected  18 19. 


Interior    W^ood  Finish 

In  the  chamber  above,  the  repetition  of  the  fine-scale 
dentil  course  in  both  cornice  and  mantel  entablature 
is  most  effective ;  beautiful  in  its  own  simplicity  as 
a  foil  for  the  horizontal  lines  of  all  the  other  mold- 
ings and  bringing  mantel  and  cornice  into  close 
relation. 

A  private  dining  room  in  the  Salem  Club  is  of 
interest  for  the  extreme  simplicity  and  chaste  ap- 
pearance of  its  detail,  and  particularly  as  showing 
how  an  appropriate  scenic  wall  paper  can  assist 
a  modest  mantel  to  convey  the  dignity  of  a  chimney 
piece.  This  handsome  landscape  paper  is  Zuber's 
"El  Dorado",  by  the  Alsatian  artists,  Ehrmann  and 
Zipelius,  and  printed  from  the  original  blocks. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  Samuel 
Mclntire  came  completely  under  the  spell  of  the 
refined  and  distinctive  elegance  of  the  work  of  the 
brothers  Adam  in  England,  and  until  his  death  in 
i8ll  most  of  the  houses  designed  by  him,  especially 
the  interior  woodwork,  were  in  the  Adam  manner. 
During  this  period,  too,  he  finished  many  whole  rooms 
or  added  new  mantels  in  houses  previously  erected. 
For  instance,  the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house 
was  built  in  1782,  but  only  the  rooms  in  the  western 
side  were  finished  at  that  time  in  the  Georgian  man- 
ner. The  whole  eastern  side  is  in  Mclntire's  later 
manner,  and  the  east  parlor,  done  in  1 801,  has  become 
a  veritable  Mecca  for  architects  from  all  sections  of 
the    country.       America    has    no    contemporaneous 

[  155  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

example  of  the  Adam  influence  superior  to  this  room 
with  its  symmetrical  architectural  treatment  of  the 
two  opposite  ends,  shown  by  accompanying  photo- 
graphs. Sixteen  and  one-half  by  twenty-six  and  one- 
half  feet  in  size  and  high  studded,  it  possesses  the 
spaciousness  necessary  to  bring  out  to  the  full  that 
subtle  quality  of  nice  balance  between  the  plain 
surfaces  and  delicate  ornament  to  which  the  Adam 
manner  owes  its  principal  refinement  and  charm. 
Indeed,  the  low,  flat  dado  with  its  molded  surbase 
embellished  with  groups  of  five  vertical  flutings, 
the  pilaster  treatment  of  the  corners  with  Corinthian 
capitals  and  fluted  shafts  resting  on  classic  pedestals, 
the  elaborate  cornice  with  intricately  carved  moldings 
and  broad  frieze  with  rosettes  and  groups  of  seven 
vertical  reeds  in  alternation  on  a  flat  ground,  the 
embrasured  windows  with  folding  paneled  shutters 
and  architrave  casings,  hand  tooled  much  like  the 
surbase,  and  last,  but  most  important  of  all,  the 
magnificent  chimney  piece,  constitute  an  archi- 
tectural setting  of  rare  beauty  which  architects  and 
antiquaries  rejoice  is  in  a  house  owned  and  to  be 
preserved  by  the  Essex  Institute. 

One  of  Mclntire's  favorite  motives,  ever  recurring 
with  minor  variations  throughout  his  work  in  the 
Adam  manner,  occupies  the  string  course  of  the 
cornice.  This  double  denticulated  member  or  Grecian 
fret  is  formed  by  vertical  cross  cuttings  alternately 
from  top  and  bottom  of  a  square  molding,  the  fine- 

[IS6] 


Interior    Wood  Finish 

scale  vertical  reeded  ovolo  beneath  giving  it  just  the 
proper  emphasis  and  serving  also  to  relate  the  cornice 
as  a  whole  more  closely  to  the  ornamentation  of  the 
frieze.  Each  side  of  the  chimney  piece  both  cornice 
and  frieze  project  considerably  and  the  soffit  is  en- 
riched by  a  guilloche  consisting  of  interlacing  circular 
fillets,  large  and  small  circles  in  alternation,  with 
applied  rosettes  within  the  larger  circles. 

In  Chapter  X  this  chimney  piece,  the  handsomest 
in  Salem,  is  treated  at  some  length.  It  is  fitting  here, 
however,  to  note  the  pleasing  and  logical  manner  in 
which  both  cornice  and  frieze  have  been  carried 
about  its  various  projections  and  made  part  of  it, 
thus  tying  it  into  the  entire  scheme. 

The  door  trim,  like  that  of  others  in  the  house, 
displays  considerable  refined  embellishment.  Flat 
pilasters  beside  the  architrave  casings  rise  from  the 
skirting  to  the  doorhead,  the  upper  fascia  of  which 
consists  of  a  series  of  hand-tooled  reedings.  The 
capitals  are  formed  by  a  simple  use  of  the  acanthus 
leaf  taken  from  the  Corinthian  order.  Fruit-filled 
urns,  garlands  and  elliptical  medallions  of  applied 
work,  delicately  drawn,  ornament  the  broad  frieze  and 
projecting  pilasters  of  the  doorhead  which,  with  the 
architrave  casing  beneath  it,  form  a  complete  en- 
tablature. It  will  be  noticed  that  the  cornice  of  the 
doorhead  repeats  that  of  the  room,  including  the  reed 
cross  sections  between  the  dentils,  but  without  the 
tiny  holes  in  each  dentil  of  the  main  cornice  above, 

[157] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

which  are  undoubtedly  the  marks  of  a  nail  set,  perhaps 
purposely  left  unfilled  to  add  another  detail  to  the 
pattern.  The  door  itself  pleases  the  eye  with  its 
attractive  panel  arrangement  and  the  flat  panels 
with  tiny  moldings  planted  on  them  about  an  inch 
from  the  edge  and  replacing  the  more  common  bevel- 
ing. Stiles,  muntin  and  rails  are  all  of  the  same 
width  except  for  the  broader  bottom  rail.  Brass  drop 
handles  such  as  this  accord  excellently  with  Adam 
detail,  and  one  notices  the  use  of  butts  instead  of  the 
old-fashioned  H  and  L  hinges  found  throughout  the 
west  side  of  this  house. 

Reverting  momentarily  to  the  windows  of  this 
room,  it  will  be  noticed  that  unlike  the  usual  two- 
piece  shutters  these  have  three  paneled  parts  on  each 
side  hinged  together  with  quaint  wrought-iron  H 
hinges.  The  photograph  also  shows  that  the  stiles 
and  rails  of  these  shutters  are  held  together  by 
small  wooden  pins.  Various  types  of  shutters  were 
in  vogue  during  different  periods  in  Salem.  Exterior 
solid  board  shutters  came  first.  On  stores  they  were 
of  the  batten  type  in  one  piece  and  held  in  place  by 
cross-bars  of  wood  or  iron,  while  on  houses  they  were 
in  two  parts  and  hung  on  strap  hinges.  For  domestic 
use,  however,  they  were  soon  brought  indoors,  the 
construction  being  the  same,  except  that  openings 
taking  the  shape  of  a  star  or  crescent  were  often  cut 
through  them  near  the  top  to  admit  a  little  light. 
Then  came  the  paneled  and  the  folding  shutter  for 

[158] 


Plate   LXXV.  —  East    or    Adam    Parlor,    Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
House.     Finished  1801  ;   Embrasured  Windows  of  the  Same  Room. 


Interior    Wood  Finish 

better  appearance  and  compactness,  the  openings 
sometimes  being  retained  as  shown  by  the  photo- 
graph of  the  front  room  of  the  Narbonne  house  in 
Chapter  II.  Another  development  was  a  quaint 
paneled  shutter  the  full  width  of  the  window  and 
sliding  into  the  wall  at  one  side,  there  being  separate 
shutters  corresponding  to  the  upper  and  lower 
sashes.  They  kept  out  the  cold  very  well,  and  one 
wonders  that  no  one  has  thought  to  glaze  them  for 
use  In  winter  as  double  windows  put  in  place  at  a 
moment's  notice  without  eifort. 

In  several  of  the  best  Salem,  houses  erected  during 
the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  most  of 
them  by  Mclntlre,  the  Interior  doorways  have  beauti- 
ful Adam  detail.  Those  in  the  hall  of  the  Crownin- 
shield-Devereux-Waters  house,  Number  72  Washing- 
ton Square  East,  combine  motives  prominent  In  both 
the  doorway  and  window  of  the  east  parlor  of  the 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house,  already  described, 
with  other  new  and  original  detail.  There  are  the 
same  architrave  casings  with  groups  of  seven  flutings 
at  frequent  intervals  on  the  upper  fascia,  the  same 
cymatlum  and  corona,  and  similar  decoration  of 
the  doorhead  frieze  consisting  of  dainty  applied  work 
in  the  form  of  slender  festooned  and  straight-hanging 
garlands  with  florets  between,  and  ornamental  flower 
pots  with  blooming  plants  on  the  projecting  pilaster- 
like portions  at  each  end,  supporting  a  cornice  with 
corresponding   projections    and   In   which   a   simple 

[  159 1 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

fine-scale  dentil  course  is  prominent.  No  pilasters 
flank  the  architrave  casings  in  this  instance. 

One  of  Mclntire's  frequent  ingenious  innovations 
replaces  the  usual  cornice  and  frieze.  Below  a  cyma 
recta  of  extreme  simplicity  a  reed,  hand-tooled  spirally 
and  resembling  the  twist  drills  of  to-day,  though 
doubtless  a  modification  of  the  popular  rope  moldings 
of  the  time,  occupies  the  position  of  the  usual  fillet. 
The  corona  has  been  omitted,  likewise  the  dentil 
course,  although  the  spiral  reed  has  much  the  value 
of  the  latter.  The  narrow  frieze  with  a  plain  torus 
below  it  has  its  flat  surface  relieved  at  intervals  with 
groups  of  nine  vertical  reedings  corresponding  to  the 
groups  of  seven  on  the  surbase.  All  executed  with 
the  utmost  precision,  the  effect  is  one  of  beauty  and 
distinction. 

In  the  hall  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house  on  Federal 
Street,  paneled  and  fluted  pilasters  support  the 
ornamental  doorhead  and  serve  as  casings  without 
architraves,  except  as  a  lower  fascia  bearing  a  contin- 
uous series  of  fine-scale  flutings,  and  a  plain  torus 
faces  the  jambs.  Reedings  having  virtually  the  same 
scale  and  value  adorn  the  surbase.  The  projection 
of  the  skirting  to  provide  bases  for  the  pilasters  is  an 
interesting  and  effective  detail. 

Salem  has  no  more  exquisite  examples  of  the  Adam 
doorhead  and  accompanying  wood  trim  than  these 
taken  from  the  Elias  Hasket  Derby  mansion  with 
their  gracefully  festooned  draperies,  fruit-filled  urns 

[i6o] 


Interior   Wood  Finish 

and  rosettes.  Both  the  main  cornice  and  that  of  the 
doorhead  include  a  prominent  denticulated  molding, 
each  dentil  being  nicely  hand-tooled  with  a  shallow 
gouge  cutting  to  give  its  face  the  appearance  of  the 
letter  H.  Conforming  to  the  characteristic  panel 
arrangement  of  the  time  with  small  panels  above 
the  two  sets  of  larger  ones  rather  than  between  the 
latter,  as  in  the  east  parlor  of  the  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  house,  the  doors  themselves  are  excellent, 
the  beveling  of  the  panels  and  the  molding  of  the 
stiles  and  rails  manifesting  painstaking  workmanship. 
One  notices  with  approval  also  the  brightening  eifect 
of  the  simple  brass-mounted  glass  knob  and  the  brass 
key  plate. 

The  accompanying  plate  shows  clearly  the  beauti- 
ful old  imported  wall  paper  that  formerly  adorned 
this  hall.  It  was  hand  blocked  in  eighteen-inch 
squares  and  consists  of  pink  roses  on  a  background 
of  green  leaves,  the  coloring  having  softened  delight- 
fully with  the  passing  years.  Because  of  its  unique 
character,  the  pattern  apparently  having  no  duplicate 
in  America,  the  paper  of  this  hall  was  purchased  early 
in  1 91 6  by  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  re- 
moved, cleaned  and  taken  to  New  York  to  decorate 
one  of  the  several  Colonial  rooms  that  now  form  one 
of  the  important  permanent  features. 

Another  notable  example  of  Mclntire's  versatility 
in  the  variation  of  the  detail  of  his  interior  wood  trim 
is  to  be  found  in  the  hall  of  the  Home  for  Aged 

[  161  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Women,  Number  i8o  Derby  Street.  The  doorway 
shown  is,  generally  speaking,  a  simplified  version  of 
that  in  the  hall  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house.  Paneled 
pilasters  on  projecting  bases  again  support  the  door- 
head,  but  these  pilasters  are  not  fluted.  The  lower 
fascia  of  the  jambs  bears  only  a  simple  torus  at 
the  edge  and  is  omitted  entirely  at  the  top,  while  the 
panels  of  the  door  itself  are  plain  and  flat.  A  unique 
combination  of  detail  adorns  the  entablature  of  the 
doorhead.  The  architrave  across  the  lintel  cor- 
responds to  the  surbase  below,  and  introduces  a  rare 
instance  of  a  continuous  series  of  short  vertical  flut- 
ings  so  cut  as  to  give  a  festoon  effect  which  is  termi- 
nated at  each  end  by  the  pilaster  projections  bearing 
elliptical  flower  ornaments  similar  to  those  in  the 
Cook-Oliver  house.  No  ornament  has  been  applied 
to  the  broad  frieze,  but  the  cornice  is  enriched  in 
an  unusual  manner.  A  fine-scale  rope  molding 
occupies  the  dentil  course,  while  beneath  Mclntire's 
favorite  cymatium  and  corona  the  soffit  is  intricately 
hand-tooled  with  groups  of  five  flutings  in  alternation 
with  small  sunken  panels  of  diamond  shape  with 
scalloped  edges.  At  the  ceiling  a  cornice  without 
frieze  is  employed.  Here  the  rope  molding  occurs 
again,  and  broad,  flat  modillions  support  the  corona, 
somewhat  after  the  Corinthian  manner,  each  modil- 
lion  having  carefully  carved  upon  its  under  face  a 
sunken,  round,  flower  medallion.  A  word  should  be 
said  in  passing  regarding  the  spiral  newel,  indicating 

[162] 


Plate  LXXVI.  —  Detail  of  Doorway,  Adam  Parlor,  Pierce-Johonnot- 

Nichols  House. 


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as  it  does  that  when  turned  balusters  are  of  slender 
grace  this  scheme  is  fully  as  effective  as  when  plain 
round  or  square  balusters  are  used. 

In  the  parlor  of  the  Andrew-Safford  house,  Number 
13  Washington  Square,  there  is  a  doorway  typical  of 
the  last  period  of  Colonial  architecture  in  Salem  when 
the  Corinthian  order  was  much  in  favor,  but  the 
influence  of  the  decadence  that  came  with  the  Greek 
revival  had  begun  to  make  itself  felt.  The  Corinthian 
spirit,  of  course,  lies  in  the  typical  modillions  sup- 
porting the  corona,  nicely  hand-carved  in  classic 
scroll  pattern  with  the  usual  acanthus  leaf  decoration 
of  the  under  surface.  Otherwise  the  entire  treatment 
is  an  original  creation  of  its  designer,  although  the 
customary  relation  between  surbase  and  doorhead 
cornice  is  maintained  by  the  tiny  ball  moldings. 
Architects  of  the  present  day  regard  the  elaborately 
molded  pilaster  casings  with  their  plinths  and  bull's- 
eye  corner  blocks  as  over-elaborate  and  rather 
clumsy.  In  panel  arrangement  like  that  of  the  fore- 
going examples,  the  bolection  moldings  give  this  door 
a  considerably  different  aspect,  which  is  still  further 
emphasized  by  the  dark  red-brown  painting  in  the 
spirit  of  old  mahogany  which  became  a  frequent 
feature  of  the  houses  of  this  period. 

It  will  be  noted  that  all  of  these  six-panel  doors 
with  four  panels  of  equal  size  and  two  small  ones  at 
the  top  have  stiles  and  muntin  of  virtually  equal 
width,    any   variation    being    slightly    wider    stiles. 

[163] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Top  and  frieze  rails  are  alike  and  the  same  width  as 
the  muntin,  but  the  bottom  rail  is  somewhat  broader 
and  the  lock  rail  the  broadest  of  the  four.  Moldings 
are  confined  to  the  edge  of  the  panels,  with  the 
splayed  or  beveled  panels  of  earlier  years  gradually 
being  abandoned  in  favor  of  plain,  flat  surfaces. 

Round-headed  doorways  here  and  there  provided 
a  welcome  variation  from  the  customary  square- 
headed  types  and  have  been  a  pleasing  feature  of 
Colonial  interiors  since  early  times.  As  framing 
the  glazed  doors  of  china  closets  they  are  noticeable 
in  the  parlor  of  the  "House  of  the  Seven  Gables" 
shown  in  Chapter  I,  and  in  the  front  room  of  the  Nar- 
bonne  house  shown  in  Chapter  II.  The  accompanying 
example,  illustrating  the  treatment  of  a  corner  china 
closet,  is  from  the  Captain  Edward  Allen  house 
erected  in  1770.  Nicely  molded  architrave  casings 
were  employed,  and  the  keystone  effect  carried  up 
through  the  cornice  by  a  slight  projection  of  the 
various  moldings  is  most  effective.  The  separation  of 
the  upper  glazed  and  lower  wood-paneled  parts  of 
the  dark-painted  door  is  an  interesting  detail,  as  are 
the  plastering  of  the  closet  to  the  form  of  a  semi- 
circular dome-shaped  niche,  the  peculiar  shape  of 
the  shelves  and  the  small  pilasters  at  each  side  within 
the  door. 

In  the  second-floor  hall  of  the  Andrew-Saiford  and 
other  contemporary  houses  the  round-headed  door- 
way  was    utilized    to   provide    an   ornamental   yet 

[164] 


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Plate  LXXVIII.  —  Plaster  Centerpiece,  Ceiling  of  the  Andrew- 

SafFord  Parlor.      Erected  1818;  Third-Floor  Chamber, 

Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  House.      Erected  1782. 


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Interior   Wood  Finish 

practical  fanlight  transom  over  the  door  between 
the  front  and  rear  part  of  the  hall.  Such  a  transom 
admitted  considerable  light  from  the  brighter  to  the 
darker  side  and  afforded  a  degree  of  privacy  whenever 
desired.  The  elaborately  molded  casings  and  hand- 
carved  comer  blocks  are  characteristic  of  the  latter 
part  of  what  might  be  termed  the  Federal  period  of 
Colonial  architecture.  One  notes  the  effectiveness  of 
the  paneled  soffit  of  the  arch  and  the  unique  sash 
divisions  of  the  transom  with  a  central  light  sug- 
gestive of  the  classic  urn. 

Round-headed  openings  were  employed  for  landing 
windows  in  stair  halls,  as  shown  in  Chapter  IX,  and 
in  the  central  part  of  the  Palladian  windows  over 
entrance  porches,  as  shown  in  Chapter  VI,  where 
they  became  decorative  interior  features  of  the  front 
end  of  second-floor  halls. 

Elliptical-headed  openings,  echoing  indoors  the 
fanlight  of  the  front  doorway,  were  in  most  instances 
reserved  for  framing  the  stairway  vista  at  the  head  or 
foot  of  the  flight,  as  mentioned  in  the  following 
chapter,  or  for  arches  between  front  and  back  par- 
lors, where  they  became  one  of  the  most  charming 
features  of  the  best  Colonial  interiors.  As  in  the 
An drew-S afford  house  these  elliptical  arches  between 
rooms  often  included  a  glazed  fanlight  with  graceful 
sash  divisions  and  sliding  doors  to  separate  the  rooms 
if  desired.  The  treatment  of  this  broad  doorway 
through  a  thick  brick  partition  wall  with  engaged 

[i6s] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Ionic  columns  at  the  front  and  paneling  in  the  reveals 
and  about  the  soffit  of  the  arch  back  of  the  doors  has 
been  much  admired.  Indeed  the  vista  through  this 
arch,  the  chaste  white  woodwork  and  the  tasteful 
mahogany  furniture  and  other  appropriate  furnish- 
ings form  a  picture  of  spacious  elegance  the  equal 
of  any  in  Salem. 


[i66] 


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CHAPTER  IX 
HALLS  AND   STAIRWAYS 

AS  an  avenue  of  approach  from  the  doorway 
/\  to  the  fireside  the  hall  ever  awakens  par- 
ticular interest.  It  may  properly,  and  often  does, 
reflect  both  ways  —  the  welcome  of  the  doorway 
whatever  the  degree  of  its  warmth,  and  the  antici- 
pated hospitality  of  the  hearthstone.  Its  psy- 
chological effect  cannot  be  denied.  One  hall  pro- 
vides only  a  characterless  passage  to  the  rooms  be- 
yond, another  in  its  severity  forebodes  little  else  than 
dignified  insincerity,  whereas  the  one  most  to  be 
admired  seems  to  radiate  the  good  cheer  of  a  happy 
home. 

In  early  Salem  houses  the  halls  were  mere  entries 
and  the  stairways  purely  utilitarian,  but  with  more 
settled  conditions  and  greater  prosperity  the  hall 
took  its  rightful  place  among  the  most  pleasing 
rooms  of  the  house.  As  the  stairway  affords  op- 
portunities for  architectural  embellishment  quite  as 
freely  as  does  the  fireplace,  so  the  Colonial  hall 
became  a  setting  for  this  architectural  gem  which 
reached  the  height  of  its  development  during  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

[1671 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

At  first  the  hall  was  regarded  almost  as  a  necessary 
evil,  the  aim  being  to  devote  the  least  possible  amount 
of  space  to  it.  Thus  many  of  the  compact  English 
cottage  types  are  to  be  found  with  the  stairway 
in  the  form  of  a  broken  flight  rising  in  three  short 
runs  with  two  landings  at  opposite  sides  of  the  hall 
where  right  angle  turns  occur.  Such  a  stairway  in 
the  "House  of  the  Seven  Gables",  probably  erected 
in  1669,  was  illustrated  in  Chapter  I.  Two  others 
of  interest  are  to  be  seen  in  the  side  hall  of  the 
Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols  house,  erected  in  1782,  and 
in  the  little  hall  at  Number  31  Summer  Street  in 
the  house  erected  in  1780  where  Samuel  Mclntire  lived 
and  died.  The  two  former  have  the  earlier  molded 
close  strings,  whereas  the  latter  has  the  open  or  cut 
strings  showing  the  step  on  the  stair  facing  and  having 
jig-sawed  scroll  brackets  beneath  the  overhanging 
treads  as  string  ornaments.  All  three  stairways 
show  the  customary  closet  with  paneled  outer  walls 
and  a  door  under  the  second  landing,  but  the  two 
latter  manifest  greater  refinement  in  the  spacing  of 
the  raised  and  molded  panels  and  the  nicely  turned 
balusters  and  newels.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
square  landing  newels  are  structural  uprights,  one 
or  both  of  them  extending  to  the  floor,  and  that  both 
strings  and  hand  rails  are  mortised  and  tenoned  to 
them  and  fastened  with  wood  pins. 

In  modest  halls  such  as  the  foregoing,  a  skirting, 
sometimes  molded,  often  runs  about  the  walls  and 

[168] 


Platk   LXXXII.  —  Stairway  in  the  Captain  Edward  Allen  House. 

Erected  1770. 


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Halls  and  Stairways 

up  the  stairway,  but  in  more  elaborate  houses  there 
is  usually  a  paneled  wainscot  notable  for  good 
spacing  and  pleasing  proportions  similar  to  that  in 
the  Captain  Edward  Allen  house,  corner  of  Derby 
and  Hardy  Streets.  As  a  rule  the  heavy  molded 
hand  rail  is  of  white  pine  painted  in  a  warm  dark 
color,  although  sometimes  white  painted  like  the 
rest  of  the  woodwork,  as  in  the  Simon  Forrester  and 
Cabot-Endicott-Low  houses.  In  the  more  costly 
houses  it  is  occasionally  of  mahogany.  Usually 
curving  outward  to  a  newel  at  the  bottom,  the 
rail  often  sweeps  upward  in  free  graceful  curves  to 
the  newels  of  the  upper  floors,  or  again  swings  along 
from  flight  to  flight  without  being  broken  by  newels. 
This  upward  curve  of  the  ramped  rail  is  usually 
repeated  in  the  surbase  and  sometimes  in  the  panel- 
ing of  the  wainscot  opposite.  Although  it  had  been 
the  prevailing  type  in  the  gambrel-roof  mansions 
of  about  1750,  Mclntire  usually  reserved  the  broken 
flight  for  side  halls,  as  in  the  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  house,  yet  he  employed  it  in  1795  for  the 
front  hall  of  the  Hosmer- Waters  house.  Number 
80  Washington  Square,  imparting  to  it  considerable 
individuality  in  arrangement  and  detail.  The  ex- 
ceptionally short  first  run  with  ramped  rail  and  dado 
followed  by  a  longer  straight  run  with  corresponding 
balustrade  and  wall  treatment  at  once  arrest  at- 
tention ;  likewise  the  open  unutilized  space  be- 
neath the  flight.     Rail,   balusters   and  particularly 

[169] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

attractive  scroll  brackets  are  of  sturdy  grace  In 
accord  with  the  newels,  which  suggest  an  adapta- 
tion of  the  Roman  Doric  column.  Similar  but 
heavier  balusters  and  newel  in  the  Simon  Forrester 
house,  Number  ii  Hodges  Court,  erected  before 
1800,  are  found  in  connection  with  paneled  box 
stairs  which  emphasize  the  broad  tread  and  rela- 
tively low  rise.  In  modem  adaptation  it  is  better 
suited  to  public  than  private  work. 

The  Captain  Edward  Allen  house  contains  an  elab- 
orated stairway  of  the  cottage  type.  The  hall, 
being  wider,  permits  more  massive  construction, 
especially  of  the  box  stairs  with  paneled  ends  and 
sides,  and  the  balustrade,  with  its  twisted  balusters 
and  corkscrew  newel,  which  rightly  may  be  considered 
among  the  most  interesting  and  spontaneous  achieve- 
ments of  the  early  American  builders.  Captain 
Allen  was  a  Scotchman,  who  came  to  America  as  a 
mariner  in  1757  and  in  1759  married  the  sister  of 
the  wife  of  Richard  Derby,  the  father  of  Elias 
Hasket  Derby. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  ingenuity  of  American  builders  evolved  another 
solution  of  the  short  hall  problem  which  came  to 
be  known  as  the  full  spiral  or  "winder."  Although 
undoubtedly  suggested  by  the  stone  stairways  of 
historic  round  towers  and  cathedrals  in  the  mother 
country,  it  became  thoroughly  domesticated  and 
harmonized  with  the  lighter  treatment  of  its  sur- 

[170] 


Plate  LXXXV.  —  Hall  and  Stairway,  "  The  Lindens."     Erected 
1754;   Stairway  Detail,  "  The  Lindens." 


Halls  and  Stairways 

roundings.  As  found  in  the  David  P.  Waters  house, 
Number  14  Cambridge  Street,  designed  by  Samuel 
Mclntire  in  1805,  its  sinuous  lines  are  possessed 
of  a  rare  grace  which  should  commend  itself  to 
prospective  home  builders  desirous  of  obtaining 
strong  individuality  in  their  present-day  small  house 
adaptations.  The  form  of  such  a  stairway  is  its 
own  ornamentation,  hence  the  simplicity  of  the 
molded  hand  rail  and  slender  square  balusters  re- 
lieved by  flat  scroll  brackets  on  the  string  and  a  hand- 
tooled  rope  plaster  bead.  Could  anything  be  more 
appropriate  than  the  newel  treatment  suggesting 
the  volute  of  the  Ionic  order,  the  balustrade  winding 
scroll-fashion  about  a  little  round-turned  column  and 
the  first  stair  tread  taking  the  outline  of  the  rail 
above  ?  A  paneled  wainscot  would  have  been  out 
of  place.  Instead,  as  in  the  Lindall-Bamard-An- 
drews  hall  and  others  of  similar  character  and  equally 
early  date,  a  simple  skirting,  flat  dado  and  a  sur- 
base  correspond  in  total  height  to  that  of  the  balus- 
trade opposite,  while  hand-blocked  paper  of  in- 
teresting design,  imported  from  France  or  England, 
covers  the  wall  above. 

In  the  Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers  house,  on  Essex 
Street,  another  "winder"  at  once  attracts  atten- 
tion to  its  generous  proportions  and  broad  sweeping 
curves  which  lend  a  stately  grandeur,  while  the  dado 
effect,  with  molded  skirting  and  surbase  displaying 
a  simple  Grecian  fret,  again  justifies  itself  as  appro- 

[171] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

priate  in  stairways  of  this  sort,  aiding  materially 
in  the  architectural  treatment  of  the  room.  Both 
the  rope-molded  plaster  bead  and  scroll  brackets 
are  again  employed,  the  latter  of  outline  form  nicely 
jig-sawed.  The  slender  balusters  are  turned,  how- 
ever, like  the  newel,  which  one  might  wish  were  of 
more  distinctive  contour.  Strangely  enough  the 
"winder"  never  enjoyed  the  popularity  of  the 
straight  run  and  broken  flight,  whereas  wing- 
flights  rising  each  side  from  a  half-way  landing, 
although  they  flourished  in  the  South,  never  gained 
a  foothold  in  New  England. 

In  the  better  houses  built  just  prior  to  the  Revo- 
lution and  immediately  following,  a  hall  of  generous 
size  took  its  place  among  the  important  interior 
features.  Planned  first  in  the  spirit  of  hospitality, 
and  also  "to  put  the  best  foot  foremost",  they  were 
elaborated  as  much  because  the  presence  of  the 
stairway  provided  opportunities  for  effective  archi- 
tectural treatment  as  for  any  other  reason. 

Wide  halls  leading  entirely  through  the  center  of 
the  house  were  common,  a  door  at  the  rear  often 
opening  upon  a  secluded  yard  or  old-fashioned 
garden,  as  at  "The  Lindens",  Danvers.  In  large 
houses,  particularly  square  ones  like  the  Pickman- 
Derby-Brookhouse  mansion,  the  hall  did  not  extend 
the  whole  way  through,  and  the  rear  door,  if  there 
were  one,  opened  into  a  back  room,  while  other 
doors  on  each  side  gave  access  to  the  more  important 

[172] 


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Halls  and  Stairways 

rooms.  Broken  flights  of  stairs  continued,  but  in 
long  halls  a  straight  run  along  one  wall  led  to  a 
landing  only  three  or  four  feet  below  the  second- 
floor  level  where  the  direction  of  the  flight  reversed. 
This  arrangement  may  be  seen  in  several  accompany- 
ing illustrations,  the  stairway  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
house  on  Federal  Street  being  particularly  simple  and 
effective.  Delightful  in  its  slender  grace,  the  balus- 
trade consists  of  a  molded  rail  and  simple  turned 
newel  and  balusters.  A  flat  dado  with  molded 
skirting  and  surbase  hand-carved  in  fine-scale,  ver- 
tical, reeded  motive  extends  up  the  flight  along  the 
wall,  while  outline  scroll  brackets,  recalling  those 
of  the  Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers  house,  adorn 
the  stair  ends.  The  stairway  of  the  Lindall-Barnard- 
Andrews  house.  Number  393  Essex  Street,  instances 
a  single  straight  flight  in  a  long  hall.  The  slender 
grace  of  the  square  balusters  and  turned  newel,  the 
attractive  scroll  brackets  and  molded  surbase,  taken 
as  a  whole  create  an  unrivaled  air  of  distinction 
and  strong  individuality.  The  newel  treatment  re- 
sembles that  of  the  David  P.  Waters  stairway, 
already  referred  to,  and  both  of  these  stairways  are 
unquestionably  among  the  best  simple  prototypes 
for  adaptation  in  a  Colonial  cottage  of  the  present 
day.  The  Waters  stairway  being  a  "winder",  two 
types  of  different  arrangement  but  similar  treat- 
ment are  presented  so  that  a  choice  can  be  made  to 
suit  the  needs  in  hand. 

[  173  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Two  more  points  are  of  interest.  Economy  made 
it  necessary  in  many  houses  to  forego  the  luxury  of 
a  solid  mahogany  stair  rail  and  merely  to  cap  a 
white-painted  rail  with  short  thin  strips  of  mahogany 
as  in  this  instance.  A  similar  treatment  of  a  dark- 
painted  rail  may  be  seen  in  the  Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  house.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  two 
doors  shown  in  the  Lindall-Barnard-Andrews  hall 
diifer  in  their  paneling.  Whether  this  was  due  to 
the  replacement  of  one  of  the  doors  at  a  later  date 
is  not  known,  but  dissimilar  doors  are  frequently 
found  in  old  houses  where  often,  as  in  this  instance, 
they  do  not  oflFend  the  eye,  but  rather  lend  an  air  of 
individuality  to  the  house. 

As  America  was   a  pioneer  country  in   Colonial 

times    a    large   proportion    of   the    early   American 

fortunes   were   amassed   by  merchants,    shipowners 

and  sea  captains,   and   it  was   inevitable  that  this 

fact  should  leave  its  mark  upon  the  architecture  of 

coast  towns,  notably  Salem,  then  our  most  important 

seaport.     Although  evidences  of  this  influence  may 

be  seen  both  indoors  and  out,  it  is  chiefly  in  the 

balusters  and  newels  of  the  stairways  that  we  are 

reminded  of  this  splendid  work,  of  the  men  who 

built  it,  and  of  the  source  of  the  money  which  paid 

,    for   it.     They   were  beautifully   turned    and    often 

\^   hand-carved  in   spiral  fashion.     The  handiwork  of 

skilled    carvers    employed    in    the    local    shipyards, 

\  then  the  largest  in  America,  their  twisted  balusters 

[174] 


Halls  and  Stairways 

are  obviously  based  upon  the  rope  moldings  and 
other  flamboyant  decorations  which  they  were  in 
the  habit  of  making  for  ship  cabins.  For  this  reason 
their  use  in  the  homes  of  shipowners  and  sea 
captains  seems  the  more  appropriate.  The  work 
was  done  in  a  masterly  manner  and  in  its  refinement 
of  detail  indicates  Yankee  ingenuity  and  thoughtful 
designing.  At  the  Essex  Institute  may  be  seen  a 
fine  old  stairway  of  this  character  with  excellent 
newels  and  balusters,  many  of  which  were  taken 
from  the  Hubon  house  when  it  was  razed  to  make  way 
in  1906  for  the  building  of  Weld  Hall,  containing 
offices  and  work  rooms  for  the  Peabody  Museum. 
Many  other  examples  remain  in  private  houses, 
and  in  each  of  the  splendid  examples  shown  here- 
;  with  it  will  be  noticed  that  there  are  three  designs 
IJn  the  twisted  portion  of  the  baluster,  one  of  each 
iBtanding  on  every  stair,  which  was  broad  and  not 
Very  high.  The  detail  photograph  of  the  stairway 
at  "The  Lindens",  in  Danvers,  shows  this  clearly 
and  also  calls  attention  to  the  pleasing  and  clever 
use  of  a  low,  hand-tooled  pilaster  on  the  wainscot 
opposite  the  newel,  also  the  splendid  spacing  of 
the  door  panels  which  with  their  lock  rails  correspond 
in  level  with  those  of  the  wainscot. 

The  wide  hall  at  "The  Lindens"  extends  entirely 


J  through  the  house  and  opens  upon  an  old-fashioned 
I  garden  at  the  rear.     On  the  wall  above  the  paneled 
wainscot  hangs   a  fine  old  hand-blocked  landscape 

[I7S] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

paper    depicting    scenes    from    the    adventures    of 

Telemachus.     The    crowning    feature  of  the    hall, 

however,  is  the  balustrade  of  the  stairway.     Balus- 

^  ters,  mahogany  stair  rails  and  newel  are  characteris- 

^«}'/'    tic  of  this  type,  but  the  box  stairs,  with  their  paneled ,,^P 

■'.*;\ends  and  decorative  brackets,  are  unique.  J^ 

As  in  this  instance,  when  the  hall  extended  through 
to  the  rear  of  the  house  the  stairway  was  lighted 
by  a  Palladian  window  over  the  landing  that  became 
not  only  an  ornamental  feature  of  the  exterior,  but 
the  motive  for  an  admirable  architectural  treatment 
of  the  interior  wall.  At  "The  Lindens"  the  deeply 
recessed,  round-headed  window,  handsomely  cased 
with  paneled  jambs  and  soffit,  logically  accommodates 
a  window  seat,  and  is  flanked  by  heavy  fluted 
pilasters  standing  on  high  paneled  pedestals  and 
with  Corinthian  capitals  supporting  a  beautiful 
cornice  with  hand-carved,  fine-scale  denticulated  and 
egg  and  dart  moldings. 

In  the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house,  designed 
by  Mclntire,  a  simpler  treatment  of  the  Palladian 
window  without  seat  may  be  seen.  Here  the  jambs 
are  paneled  and  the  pilaster  casings  have  a  sunken 
panel  effect,  while  the  soffit  prominently  displays 
a  familiar  Grecian  fret.  The  sash  bar  divisions 
are  exceptionally  graceful,  while  the  cornice,  arch 
casing  and  surbase  charm  the  eye  with  their  deli- 
cately hand-tooled  detail,  in  which  Mclntire  excelled. 

So  nearly  do  the  hall  and  stairway  of  the  Cabot- 

[176] 


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Halls  and  Stairways 

Endicott-Low  house  on  Essex  Street  resemble  those 
of  "The  Lindens"  that  color  is  lent  to  the  tradition 
that  both  of  these  mansions,  together  with  the 
Benjamin  Pickman  house,  in  the  rear  of  Number 
165  Essex  Street,  and  the  "King"  Hooper  house, 
at  Marblehead,  were  designed  by  the  same  English 
architect.  The  general  arrangement  is  identical 
and  the  paneled  wainscot,  doors,  architrave  casings, 
box  stairs,  balustrade  and  newel  are  virtually  the 
•"Ijame.  Minor  differences  occur  in  the  cornices, 
however.  In  the  Cabot-Endicott-Low  house  the 
round-headed  window,  with  a  seat  on  the  landing, 
has  only  simple  molded  casings  without  other  archi- 
tectural elaboration  and  the  white-painted  newel 
and  hand  rail  further  alter  appearances  somewhat. 
Altogether  the  eifect  is  one  of  chaste  elegance,  un- 
excelled in  all  Salem.  As  at  "The  Lindens"  the 
landing  furnishes  a  convenient  place  for  "the  clock 
on  the  stairs",  immortalized  by  Longfellow,  and 
in  bygone  days  the  opposite  comer  of  the  landing 
was  usually  occupied  by  a  tip  table  on  which  at 
night  stood  candles  to  light  guests  to  their  rooms. 
The  panel  treatment  of  the  exposed  second-floor 
level  accords  well  with  the  box  stairs,  the  staggered 
arrangement  of  the  stiles,  reminiscent  of  the  run- 
ning bond  in  brickwork,  being  a  logical  horizontal 
continuation  of  the  box-stair  efi"ect.  The  detail 
photograph  shows  clearly  the  three  delightful  balus- 
ter patterns,  differing  only  in  their  upper  portions, 

[  177I 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

the  handsome  twisted  landing  newels  and  the  sweep- 
ing lines  of  the  ramped  rails. 

Most  of  the  newels  accompanying  twisted  balusters 
greatly  resemble  each  other,  consisting  of  one  cork- 
screw spiral  within  another,  with  small  spiral  flut- 
ings  and  reedings  hand-tooled  upon  the  plain,  turned 
surfaces.  Soft  pine  painted  white  predominated,  as 
shown  by  the  detail  photograph  made  in  the  Richard 
Derby  house,  erected  in  1761,  the  oldest  brick  dwell- 
ing in  Salem. 

The  back  stairway  at  "The  Lindens"  combines 
turned  balusters  with  a  unique  corkscrew  newel, 
four  pierced  openings  through  the  thickest  portion 
displaying  the  much-used  spiral  spindle  within. 

Not  only  were  the  halls  of  this  period  noted  for 
their  splendid  paneled  wainscots,  but  for  similar 
paneling  spaced  with  the  utmost  care  under  the 
stairs.  This  charming  effect  may  be  seen  at  its 
best  in  the  Babbidge-Crowninshield-Bowker  house,  in 
the  rear  of  Number  46  Essex  Street,  erected  about 
1700;  a  quaint,  twisted  wood  rod  extends  from  the 
second-floor  level  across  to  the  balustrade.  Upon 
this  the  fire  bucket  was  hung,  its  position  being 
determined  by  the  central  location  of  the  hall  and 
the  availability  of  the  bucket  to  either  floor.  This 
stairway  is  unique  in  that  a  short  run  of  three  steps 
to  the  left  of  the  landing  completes  the  flight; 
it  does  not  reverse  in  the  conventional  manner. 

Simple  molded  panels  suffice  to  ornament  the  ends 

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Halls  and  Stairways 

of  the  box  stairs,  although  flat  scroll  brackets  were 
usually  placed  under  the  overhang  of  the  treads  to 
give  an  appearance  of  support. 

This  house  was  the  birthplace  of  Benjamin  W. 
Crowninshield  and  of  his  brother  Jacob,  both 
Congressmen. 

In  the  stairway  of  the  Pickman-Derby-B rook- 
house  niansion,  formerly  at  Number  70  Washington 
Street,  on  the  site  of  the  new  Masonic  Temple, 
this  idea  of  small  brackets  was  carried  to  the  un- 
usual extent  of  a  bracket  of  solid  wood  as  thick  as 
the  width  of  the  stairway.  The  effect  was  distinctly 
pleasing,  however,  and  the  scheme  worthy  of  more 
general  application  in  present-day  work.  In  fact, 
as  shown  by  the  accompanying  photograph,  this 
hall  presents  a  notable  prototype  for  modem  adap- 
tation in  houses  where  the  hall  cannot  extend 
through  to  the  rear  of  the  house  and  so  offers  no 
opportunity  for  a  window  on  the  landing. 

The  latest  development  of  the  Colonial  stairway 
in  long  halls  was  a  curved  upper  portion  of  the  run 
instead  of  a  landing.  Most  of  the  stairways  for 
several  years  after  18 10  were  of  this  type.  Pre- 
vious to  these,  however,  an  attractive  transition 
stage  occurred,  during  which  there  was  a  landing 
three  or  four  steps  below  the  second-floor  level, 
but  the  rail  swung  around  a  curve  instead  of  making 
square  comers  with  newels.  The  charm  of  this 
effect   may  be  seen  in  the   Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols 

[179] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

house,  where  the  stairway  is  notable  chiefly  for  the 
balustrade  which,  as  well  as  the  diamond  fret  along 
the  second-floor  level,  undoubtedly  owes  its  origin 
to  Chippendale  influence.  Four  slender  square  balus- 
ters alternate  with  a  jig-sawed  member  very  like 
the  well-known  chair  back  to  form  a  scheme  at 
once  unique  and  beautiful.  Chippendale's  work 
preceded  that  of  Adam ;  already  occasional  examples 
of  his  splendid  craftsmanship  were  being  brought 
to  America,  and  it  followed  naturally  that  Mclntire, 
the  architect  of  the  house,  in  his  search  for  distinc- 
tive motives  came  as  completely  under  the  spell 
of  Chippendale  in  1782  as  he  did  later  under  that  of 
Adam. 

After  the  manner  of  the  time,  jig-sawed  double- 
scroll  brackets  decorate  the  stair  ends,  in  this  in- 
stance bearing  also  three  pairs  of  vertical  flutes. 
The  newel  recalls  that  of  the  Lindall-Barnard- 
Andrews  and  Waters  stairways.  Notable  features 
of  the  landing  include  the  beautiful  Palladian  window 
and  the  approach  from  the  landing  by  two  semi- 
circular steps  to  a  door  opening  upon  a  chamber 
at  the  rear  of  the  house. 

At  the  front  end  of  Colonial  halls  such  as  that  of 
the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house  one  sees  the 
interior  charm  of  a  typical  Colonial  front  doorway 
arrangement  of  the  late  eighteenth  century.  The 
treatment  makes  an  architectural  feature  of  the 
entire  end  of  the  hall,  elaborate  but  in  rare  good 

[  180  1 


Halls  and  Stairways 

taste.  The  casings,  with  their  broad,  horizontal 
flutings  below  the  Corinthian  capitals,  sound  an 
unusual  though  pleasing  note,  as  do  the  beaded 
panels  with  urn-shaped  inserts  in  applied  work 
each  side  of  the  fanlight.  The  ornamentation  of 
the  lintel  with  festoons  and  rosettes  each  side  of  a 
vertical,  reeded,  central  panel,  however,  exemplifies 
a  typical  Adam  treatment.  Other  features  of  in- 
terest include  a  hand-tooled,  denticulated  molding 
of  the  cornice  with  a  reed  cross  section  and  dentil 
In  alternation,  each  dentil  having  a  flute  gouged  upon 
it ;  and  the  vertical,  fluted  surface  of  the  dado. 

In  striking  contrast  to  this,  the  front  door  of  the 
Richard  Derby  house,  on  Derby  Street,  with  its 
simple,  molded  casings,  oblong  transom  and  heavy 
iron  strap  hinges,  forms  an  interesting  comparison. 

In  many  houses  of  the  later  period  the  elliptical 
arch  of  the  fanlight  is  echoed  elsewhere.  To  frame 
the  stairway  picture,  one  of  the  most  attractive  in 
the  house,  it  often  spans  the  lower  hall  at  the  foot  of 
the  stairs,  or  the  upper  hall  at  their  head,  being 
supported  by  flat  or  fluted  pilasters  or  resting  on 
beautifully  carved  consoles.  Occasionally  it  frames 
a  vista  of  the  far  end  of  a  long  hall  or  determines 
the  shape  of  a  transom  to  light  the  rear  hall  when  a 
door  separates  it  from  the  front  portion,  as  at  the 
Salem  Club,  Number  29  Washington  Square  North. 
It  may  also  be  seen  at  Intersections  of  hall  corridors, 
as    in    the   Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers    house,    at 

[1811 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

202^  Essex  Street.  The  two  arches  shown  form 
an  interesting  comparison,  so  greatly  do  they  differ 
in  detail.  Both  are  based  on  the  Corinthian  order 
and  one  has  typical  Corinthian  capitals,  whereas 
the  other  has  festooned  Adam  drapery  replacing 
the  usual  acanthus  leaf  detail.  Both  are  notable 
for  the  Grecian  fret  applied  to  the  soffits  of  the  arches 
and  one  has  pilasters  continuing  this  fret,  whereas 
the  other  has  sunken  panel  pilasters  with  applied 
straight-hanging  garlands.  The  archivolts  also  dif- 
fer, one  being  merely  molded  and  the  other  having 
alternate  rosettes  and  reeded  groups  applied  to  its 
fascia. 

Coming  now  to  the  long  halls  with  semicircular 
ends  and  a  curved  upper  portion  of  the  run  instead 
of  a  landing,  two  instances  will  suffice.  In  the 
Hoffman-Simpson  house.  Number  26  Chestnut 
Street,  erected  about  1827,  are  to  be  seen  the  famil- 
iar dado  with  molded  surbase  and  skirting,  the  scroll- 
bracket  ornamentation  of  the  stair  string,  the 
volute  newel  treatment  and  balustrade  with  simple 
square  balusters,  dark  painted  like  that  of  the 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house.  The  door  casings 
are  deeply  molded  after  the  manner  of  the  last 
period  of  Colonial  architecture  in  Salem  with  square 
plinths  and  sunken  corner  blocks.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  rear  door  takes  the  curve  of  the  wall  and 
is  a  splendid  piece  of  joinery  trimmed  with  glass 
knobs. 

[182] 


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Halls   and  Stairways 

The  similar  hall  of  the  Salem  Club  differs  in  several 
details.  The  round  end  of  the  hall  occurs  only  at 
the  head  of  the  stairs  where  a  characteristic  niche 
in  the  wall  provides  an  appropriate  place  for  statuary 
or  an  example  of  the  taxidermist's  art,  as  in  this 
instance.  On  the  lower  floor  the  rear  end  of  the 
hall  is  square  and  the  door  separating  the  front  and 
rear  halls  is  elaborated  by  engaged  Ionic  columns 
supporting  an  elliptical  arched  transom,  with  a 
finely  molded  archivolt  and  highly  ornamented 
soffit,  in  which  is  set  a  transom  sash  of  distinctive 
pattern.  The  other  doorway,  like  most  in  the  house, 
has  deeply  molded  casings  with  flat  square  plinths 
and  handsomely  carved  corner  blocks ;  it  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  head  taking  the  form  of  a  complete 
entablature  with  flat  frieze  and  pilaster  effect  at 
each  end,  supporting  a  fine-scale  Corinthian  cornice 
which  reflects  that  of  the  ceiling  above  with  its 
nicely  ornamented  modillions.  Like  the  balustrade 
with  its  slender  turned  balusters  the  handsome  six- 
panel  doors  are  dark  painted.  Delicate  applied 
detail  adorns  the  surbase  and  a  beautiful  scroll  fret 
gives  character  to  the  exposed  second-floor  level. 


[183 1 


CHAPTER  X 
MANTELS   AND   CHIMNEY   PIECES 

NOT  until  the  eighteenth  century  did  the 
average  Salem  fireplace  include  architec- 
tural embellishment  worthy  of  emulation  to-day. 
Up  to  that  time  a  single  great  fireplace  in  the  living 
room,  which  also  served  as  a  kitchen,  had  often 
sufiiced  ;  few  houses  boasted  more  than  two  fireplaces 
on  the  lower  floor.  They  were  of  large  dimensions 
for  burning  logs  of  considerable  size  and  length, 
a  long  settle  —  sometimes  two  settles,  one  at  each 
side  —  being  provided  to  seat  the  entire  family  con- 
veniently near  the  only  source  of  heat.  The  trammel 
bar  and  crane  with  its  pothooks  were  also  quaint 
features,  for  much  of  the  early  cookery  was  depend- 
ent upon  the  fireplace  until  brick  ovens  and  finally 
iron  stoves  came  into  general  use.  These  early 
fireplaces  were  commonly  built  of  brick  though 
sometimes  of  stone  and  often  had  cast-iron  fire- 
backs  bearing  the  owner's  initials  and  the  date  of 
erection  of  the  house.  Stone  flags  frequently  pro- 
vided hearths  and  jambs.  In  the  earlier  examples 
there  was  no  mantel;  the  great  oak  beam  which 
supported  the  masonry  over  the  fireplace  opening 

[184] 


Mantles  and  Chimney   Pieces 

and  called  the  "mantel-tree"  was  the  only  link  be- 
tween the  early  mantel  or  hood  and  the  form  that 
followed.  Often  it  projected  sufficiently  to  provide 
a  ledge  on  which  to  stand  candlesticks  and  other 
utensils.  Such  a  kitchen  of  the  olden  days  has  been 
reconstructed  with  antiques  gathered  here  and 
there  and  forms  a  notable  feature  of  the  Essex 
Institute  museum. 

With  the  coming  of  more  prosperous  times  a 
higher  standard  of  living  was  adopted  ;  larger  houses 
were  built  and  a  fireplace  for  heating  purposes  be- 
came desirable  in  each  of  the  principal  rooms, 
including  chambers.  More  thought  was  given  to 
good  appearance ;  the  space  about  the  fireplace  was 
paneled,  and  toward  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  whole  side  of  the  room  began  to  be  thus 
treated.  About  this  time,  too,  the  mantel-tree  was 
discontinued,  the  width  of  the  fireplace  opening 
being  so  much  reduced  that  an  iron  strap  could  be 
substituted.  Plain  and  carved  soapstone  facings 
began  to  be  used,  followed  by  glazed  Dutch  tiles 
and  various  kinds  of  marble  with  plain  surfaces 
and  later  with  nicely  chiseled  Grecian  frets.  To- 
ward the  end  of  the  century  the  mantelshelf  proper 
came  into  general  use,  oifering  ready  opportunity 
for  elaboration,  and  thereafter  the  development  of 
the  mantel  as  the  principal  architectural  feature 
of  the  room  advanced  apace. 

The   sentimental   appeal   of   the   open   fire    con- 

[i8s] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

tinued  unabated.  People  of  necessity  lived  close 
to  the  hearthstone,  for  the  fireplace  still  remained 
the  source  of  warmth  for  six  months  of  the  year 
and  therefore  the  very  center  of  home  life.  But 
builders  began  to  realize  that,  in  other  rooms  than 
the  kitchen,  the  fire  is  absent  during  warm  weather, 
and  that  while  sentiment  lies  in  the  fire  on  the 
hearth,  permanent  year-round  beauty  centers  not 
in  the  fireplace  proper  but  in  its  architectural  set- 
ting, the  mantel  or  complete  chimney  piece.  They 
saw  in  the  ensemble  a  thing  of  the  utmost  necessity 
which  could  be  rendered  beautiful  by  architectural 
treatment  in  wood  with  moldings,  carving  and  other 
decorations,  and  so  devoted  their  best  eiforts  to  its 
appropriate  ornamentation  with  the  result  that 
mantels  and  chimney  pieces  became  the  crowning 
feature  of  the  room,  usually  sounding  the  keynote 
of  the  scheme  for  the  other  wood  finish.  And  so 
they  remain  to-day,  for  the  charm  of  the  open  fire 
will  never  cease,  and  the  fireplace  and  its  mantel 
will  ever  appeal  to  the  heart  as  well  as  the  eye, 
representing  as  it  does  the  human  and  direct  ideal 
of  homely  comfort  in  the  days  of  our  great-grand- 
fathers. 

In  America  the  development  of  mantels  in  modest 
homes,  and  chimney  pieces  in  more  pretentious  res- 
idences, naturally  followed  to  a  degree  the  prevail- 
ing mode  in  England.  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century   when    the    Italian    style   was    brought    to 

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Pla  IK  XCV.  —  Chamber  Mantel,  "  The  Lindens  ;  "  Mantel  in  tht 
Captain  Edward  Allen  House,  125  Derby  Street. 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

England  by  Inigo  Jones,  chimney  pieces  were  of 
extremely  simple  design,  often  consisting  only  of  the 
ordinary  mantelpiece  with  classic  architraves  and 
shelf,  the  upper  part  of  the  chimney  breast  being 
paneled  like  the  rest  of  the  room.  Toward  the 
end  of  that  century  and  for  many  decades  following, 
the  classic  architraves  were  abandoned  in  favor  of 
a  much  bolder  bolection  molding.  The  shelf  was 
omitted  and  the  paneling  of  the  chimney  breast 
took  the  form  of  two  oblongs,  the  upper  broader 
than  the  lower. 

Such  chimney  pieces  at  their  best  are  to  be  seen 
at  "The  Lindens",  Danvers,  erected  in  1754,  where 
the  principal  rooms  have  four  paneled  walls  and 
most  of  the  chambers  one  paneled  wall,  includ- 
ing the  fireplace.  The  magnificent  dark-painted 
chimney  piece  of  the  parlor  was  illustrated  and 
commented  upon  in  the  preceding  chapter.  That 
In  the  dining  room  shows  the  pleasing  qualities  of 
this  type  in  white-painted  wood  with  fireplace 
facings  and  hearth  of  marble,  or  tiles  of  similar 
effect,  with  graceful  brass  andirons  and  handsome 
fender.  As  In  the  parlor  the  paneling  of  this  room 
and  Its  doors  Is  excellently  spaced  and  nicely  worked. 

The  mantelshelf  proper  was  too  practical  and 
attractive  a  thing  to  be  long  omitted,  however, 
except  possibly  in  the  more  formal  rooms.  In 
living  rooms  and  chambers  It  furnished  a  place  for 
clocks,    candlesticks    and    other    useful    ornaments, 

[187] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

and  it  appealed  to  the  eye,  not  only  because  of  its 
ornamental  supports,  but  because  of  the  homelike, 
livable  appearance  it  gave  to  the  room. 

The  Salem  matrons  of  those  days  loved  to  display 
on  these  mantels  their  rare  pieces  of  so-called  "  Lowe- 
stoft" ware,  imported  direct  from  China.  Three 
jars  and  two  beakers,  all  ten  or  twelve  inches  high, 
were  usually  set  out  symmetrically  across  the  shelf 
with  a  pair  of  brass  or  silver-plated  candlesticks 
between.  Sometimes  there  were  only  two  beakers 
and  one  jar,  or  the  reverse,  and  in  later  years  hand- 
some whale-oil  lamps  often  replaced  the  candle- 
sticks. The  "Lowestoft"  ware  of  1790  was  mostly 
green  and  gilt,  while  that  of  about  1835  was  decorated 
with  colored  butterfly  patterns.  There  was  also  a 
period  of  blue  and  white,  often  with  the  addition 
of  gilt. 

In  England  architects  of  the  eighteenth  century 
returned  to  the  Inigo  Jones  classic  type ;  the  shelf 
of  former  times  was  reinstated  and  the  overmantel 
was  developed  into  a  single  large  and  elaborately 
framed  panel  over  the  chimney  breast.  Sometimes 
this  remained  unadorned,  but  oftener  displayed  a 
family  portrait,  ornamental,  gilt-framed  mirror  or 
more  elaborate  girandole. 

A  Mclntire  mantel  of  this  period,  based  on  Pal- 
ladio's  Ionic  order  with  convex  frieze,  is  the  prin- 
cipal feature  of  the  west  parlor  of  the  Pierce- Johon- 
not-Nichols  house,  on  Federal  Street.     As  in  many 

[188] 


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Pi.ATK     XCVII.  —  East     Front     Chamber    Mantel,    Pierce-Johonnot- 
Nichols  House;    Corner  Section  of  the  Same. 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

old  houses  of  the  time  it  forms  part  of  one  side  of 
the  room  treated  with  wood  paneling  throughout. 
Decidedly  substantial  in  character,  it  is  essentially 
simple  in  conception  and  graceful  in  form  and  pro- 
portion. The  moldings  are  especially  interesting. 
The  ovolo  under  the  shelf  corresponds  to  that  in 
the  cornice  above  the  dentil  course.  While  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  classic  egg  and  dart  motive,  it  was 
employed  without  the  customary  bead  and  reel,  and 
still  further  received  the  stamp  of  Mclntire's  per- 
sonality by  the  small  round  borings  at  the  base  of 
the  tongue.  A  related  but  dissimilar  ovolo  mold- 
ing surrounds  the  broad  panel  of  the  overmantel, 
while  the  ogee  moldings  about  the  fireplace  open- 
ing but  distantly  resemble  any  well-known  classic 
motive,  though  restrained  and  effective.  The  beau- 
tiful brass  hob  grate  mounted  on  soapstone  compares 
favorably  with  any  in  America  and  its  setting  within 
a  border  of  black  and  white  tiles  depicting  ^Esop's 
Fables  is  exceptional. 

The  hob  grate  was  brought  out  in  England  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  when  coal 
replaced  wood  as  a  fuel  and  andirons  were  found 
unsuitable  for  burning  the  comparatively  small  lumps. 
Because  of  the  abundance  of  fuel  wood  in  America, 
however,  relatively  few  hob  grates  were  brought  to 
this  country  until  about  1830. 

Many  references  to  the  work  of  Samuel  Mclntire 
occur  in  succeeding  pages.     A  comprehensive  chapter 

[189] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

on  Salem  mantels  inevitably  reads  like  an  eulogy 
of  his  achievements.  The  most  skilled  carver  and 
resourceful  designer  of  his  time,  the  mantel  provided 
the  logical  subject  for  his  artistry.  Its  greatwt 
development  occurred  during  the  period  of  his 
activities  between  1782  and  181 1  and  most  of  the 
best  examples  in  Salem  have  been  authenticated  as 
his  craftsmanship.  His  designs  range  from  the  ex- 
ceedingly simple  to  the  highly  ornate,  often  display- 
ing daring  originality  and  remarkable  freedom  in 
the  use  of  the  orders,  yet  they  are  never  deficient 
in  that  chaste  appearance,  grace  of  line,  and  sense 
of  proportion  which  characterized  all  his  work. 

Turning  again  to  mantel  design  in  general, 
toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  all  other 
designs  were  superseded  by  those  of  the  brothers 
Adam,  which  were  enriched  with  applied  ornament 
of  French  putty  cast  in  molds  and  sometimes  copied 
from  the  carved  wood  decoration  of  old  times,  al- 
though oftener  adapted  in  attenuated  form  from  the 
stone  detail  of  Roman  architecture,  notably  Diocle- 
tian's palace  at  Spalato,  in  Dalmatia.  Mclntire 
and  other  American  designers  and  architects  else- 
where quickly  came  under  the  spell  of  their  work, 
and  much  was  executed  in  wood  by  the  former  in 
Salem  that  compares  favorably  with  the  achieve- 
ments of  Robert  Adam. 

Of  these  there  is  much  to  follow.  First,  however, 
it   is   interesting   to   record   that   in   several    Salem 

[  190] 


Mantels  ana  Chimney   Pieces 

houses  erected  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  mantels  more  or  less  in  the  Adam  manner 
have  been  placed  against  the  original  shelfless 
paneling  about  the  fireplace.  Their  broad  entabla- 
tures divide  the  lower  panel  over  the  chimney  breast 
and  form  an  overmantel  of  peculiar  though  obvious 
character,  yet  the  resulting  chimney  piece  is  by  no 
means  displeasing.  Two  such  mantels  at  "The 
Lindens",  Danvers,  were  taken  from  the  Salem  resi- 
dence of  Honorable  Nathan  Read,  a  congressman 
and  the  inventor  of  a  workable  steamboat,  when  that 
house  was  razed  in  1856  to  make  way  for  the  build- 
ing at  Number  134  Essex  Street,  now  the  museum 
of  the  Essex  Institute.  The  Read  mansion  had  been 
designed  by  Mclntire  in  1790  and  was  well  known 
as  the  birthplace  of  William  Hickling  Prescott,  the 
historian,  on  May  4,  1796,  and  after  1799  as  the  home 
of  Captain  Joseph  Peabody,  a  wealthy  merchant  in 
the  Calcutta  trade. 

Rarely  did  Mclntire's  detail  take  such  a  light  and 
fanciful  character  as  in  the  more  distinctive  of  the 
two  mantels  from  the  Read  mansion  shown  by  an 
accompanying  illustration.  The  dentil  course,  with 
peculiarly  hand-tooled  members,  was  a  favorite 
Mclntire  motive,  and  while  the  screw  bead  was 
occasionally  employed  elsewhere  as  a  single  motive, 
in  this  instance  it  provides  a  prominent  repeated 
theme  in  the  cornice,  the  architrave  and  the  narrow, 
paneled   pilasters.     A  broad   Grecian   fret  of  well- 

[191] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

known  pattern  supplies  the  major  portion  of  the 
architrave  and  sounds  an  unusual  note  in  Mclntire 
mantel  design.  Chief  interest,  however,  centers  in 
the  applied  work,  not  so  much  in  the  central  panel, 
with  its  basket  of  fruit  and  flowers,  as  in  the  horns  of 
plenty  which  serve  as  frieze  spots  at  each  side,  and 
particularly  the  realistic  grapevines  and  fruit  which 
replace  the  conventional  Adam  garlands  in  the 
paneled  pilasters.  It  will  be  noticed  that  these 
pilasters  are  carried  up  through  the  entire  entablature, 
with  characteristic  projection  of  the  shelf  or  cornice 
as  well  as  frieze  and  architrave.  While  perhaps 
drawing  rather  too  much  attention  to  themselves, 
the  Flemish  tiles  depicting  historic  scenes  are  of 
peculiar  interest  as  antiques.  Brass  andirons  and  a 
fire  set  of  especially  graceful  design  complete  a 
fireplace  picture  of  rare  attractiveness. 

Another  noteworthy  mantel  of  this  period  is  to 
be  seen  with'  paneling  of  an  earlier  date  in  the  Cap- 
tain Edward  Allen  house,  Number  125  Derby  Street, 
erected  in  1770.  Although  executed  by  some  local 
wood  worker  it  is  essentially  an  Adam  design,  exem- 
plifying the  exotic  character  of  much  of  his  work. 
While  strongly  under  Roman  and  Italian  influence 
Adam  had  the  genius  to  mold  and  adapt  classical 
models  so  as  to  create  a  new  manner  of  superlative 
charm  and  distinction.  With  simple  curvilinear 
forms,  of  which  he  preferred  the  oval,  he  evolved 
combinations    of    remarkable    grace    and    variety. 

[  192] 


Plate     XCVIII.  —  Corner    Section    of     Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
Chimneypiece ;    Corner  Section  of  Cook-Oliver  Mantel. 


Pi.Ai  i:   XCIX.  —  Fireplace  in   a   Third    Floor    Chamber,   Pierce- 

JohoiiiKJt-Nichols  House;   Mantel  in  a  Chamber  of  the 

Cook-Oliver  House. 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

Flowing  curves  terminating  the  frieze,  which  is 
enriched  with  a  profusion  of  applied  ornament, 
including  festooned  garlands,  horns  of  plenty  and 
mythological  figures,  supply  the  chief  distinction  of 
the  Allen  mantel.  The  projection  of  the  central 
panel,  with  corresponding  treatment  of  the  cornice, 
emphasizes  the  beautiful  oval  decoration,  which, 
like  the  festooned  decorations  of  the  corona,  the 
double-denticulated  molding  beneath  and  the  fluted 
groups  of  the  architraves  are  characteristic  Adam 
details.  As  in  the  case  of  many  old  fireplaces  this 
opening  was  at  some  later  time  closed  that  a  Franklin 
stove  or  fireframe  might  be  set  up  before  the  orna- 
mental cast-iron  frame  that  still  remains. 

One  more  instance  of  the  chimney  piece  forming 
part  of  a  paneled  wall  is  particularly  interesting. 
It  is  the  recessed  effect  in  the  east  front  chamber 
of  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols  house,  a  room  finished 
about  1800  in  the  Adam  manner.  Engaged  columns 
support  the  frieze  and  cornice  or  shelf,  the  molded 
architraves  casing  the  fireplace  openings.  The 
double  denticulated  molding  much  used  by  Mclntire 
forms  the  most  conspicuous  part  of  the  cornice, 
while  the  frieze  is  typically  Adam,  with  a  central 
panel  of  vertical  flutings  and  garlands  and  flower 
baskets  of  applied  work  at  each  side.  Flower-filled 
urns  adorn  the  terminating  frieze  projections,  which 
are  emphasized  by  corresponding  projections  of  the 
cornice.     Over  the  chimney  breast  above  the  shelf 

[193] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

a  broad  architrave,  ornate  with  an  applied  border, 
forms  a  large  oblong  panel  of  pleasing  proportions. 
In  the  restraint  and  nice  selection  of  delicate  decora- 
tion lie  that  charm  which  renders  this  one  of  the  most 
admired  mantels  in  New  England. 

Only  in  the  principal  chambers  of  large  houses  was 
the  wall  of  the  room  where  the  fireplace  occurred 
entirely  paneled  up.  Elsewhere  the  treatment  of 
the  fireplace  was  very  simple.  The  extreme  treat- 
ment is  shown  in  a  third-floor  chamber  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  which  was  finished  soon 
after  1782  at  a  time  when  the  mantelshelf  was  still 
I  being  frequently  omitted.  Simple,  molded  archi- 
I  traves  comprise  the  meager  architectural  features 
of  this  quaint  fireplace  which  is  notable  for  its  shallow 
depth,  narrow  back  and  broad  sides.  The  wooden 
turn-button  at  the  top  is  used  to  fasten  a  blind  in 
place,  covering  the  entire  opening  during  the  summer 
when  fires  are  not  needed.  Almost  all  good  houses 
had  these  green  summer  blinds  for  fireplaces  in 
every  room  about  1825,  some  of  them  being  fitted 
in  quite  a  complicated  way  to  cover  the  grate  open- 
ings. Black  iron  andirons,  pleasing  in  design  and 
proportion,  an  antique  hand  bellows  and  Windsor 
rocker  complete  a  picture  redolent  of  homely  com- 
fort and  the  spirit  of  long  ago. 

Most  chamber  fireplaces  of  the  late  eighteenth 
and  early  nineteenth  centuries  had  mantels  con- 
sisting of  a   complete   entablature   with   the   shelf 

[  194  1 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

forming  part  of  the  cornice  and  the  whole  supported 
by  pilasters.  Often  of  austere  simplicity  in  respect 
to  detail  they  were  remarkably  well  proportioned 
and  chaste  in  appearance,  notably  those  by  Mcln- 
tire.  One  of  his  simplest  and  most  effective  mantels 
is  that  in  the  chamber  over  the  dining  room  of  the 
Cook-Oliver  house,  on  Federal  Street.  Except  for 
the  dentil  course  of  the  cornice  it  depends  entirely 
upon  hand-planed  moldings,  including  the  paneled 
pilasters,  yet  by  reason  of  nice  proportion  and  careful 
workmanship  it  charms  the  eye  as  do  few  other 
equally  modest  mantels  in  Salem. 

While  on  a  larger  and  a  trifle  heavier  scale  with 
moldings  diff"ering  somewhat,  the  mantels  in  Hamil- 
ton Hall,  at  the  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Cambridge 
Streets,  are  very  similar.  It  will  be  noticed,  how- 
ever, that  the  pilaster  projections  do  not  terminate 
the  mantel  at  each  side.  They  are  mounted  on 
broad,  flat,  vertical  casings  which  extend  the  plain 
frieze  and  necessitate  cornice  extensions  to  corre- 
spond. Many  of  the  more  elaborate  mantels  by 
Mclntire  and  others  were  constructed  on  this  plan. 
The  principal  differences  in  the  moldings  occur  in 
the  cornice  where  a  Tuscan  cymatium  in  the  latter 
mantel  replaces  one  of  the  denticulated  Doric  order 
in  the  former ;  hand-tooled,  vertical,  fluted  molding 
has  been  substituted  for  the  usual  dentil  course  and 
a  vertical,  reeded  ovolo  beneath  it  lends  added 
weight.     Both    this    and   the   foregoing   mantel    do 

[  I9S  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  oj    Salem 

not  depend  upon  the  cymatium  of  the  cornice  to 
provide  the  shelf  but  have  a  supplementary  shelf 
above  it. 

Two  mantels  in  third-floor  chambers  of  the  Derby- 
Crowninshield-Rogers  house  on  Essex  Street  are 
interesting  examples  of  the  use  of  figure  work  in 
the  form  of  central  bas-relief  panels  in  composition 
applied  to  otherwise  modest  designs.  The  upper 
one  of  these  in  general  effect  recalls  the  Cook- 
Oliver  mantel  already  referred  to,  and  is  a  positive 
joy  to  look  upon,  so  good  are  its  proportions.  No- 
table differences  include  the  broader  dentil  course 
and  heavier  bed  moldings,  the  absence  of  the  sup- 
plementary shelf,  and  of  cymatium  projections 
over  the  pilasters,  also  the  substitution  of  different 
though  equivalent  moldings  in  the  architrave  and 
pilasters.  The  lower  mantel  shows  still  further 
variation  of  the  moldings  and  is  enriched  by  the 
architraves  about  the  fireplace  opening,  the  reeded 
pilasters,  the  double  denticulated  cornice  molding 
and  the  applied  composition  figures  as  frieze  spots 
on  the  pilaster  projections,  which  in  this  instance 
include  the  shelf.  Despite  the  shameful  treatment 
to  which  both  of  these  mantels  have  been  subjected 
by  careless  tenants  since  the  house  has  been  devoted 
to  commercial  purposes  and  the  fireplaces  have  been 
closed  for  the  use  of  stoves,  their  unaffected  simplicity 
and  fine  sense  of  proportion  appeal  to  every  seeing 
eye,   and   were   they   cleaned   and   freshly   painted 

[196] 


Plate  C.  —  Mantel  Detail,  Hamilton  Hall ;   Chamber  Mantel   Detail, 

Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers  House  ;     Chamber  Mantel  Detail, 

Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers  House. 


Pla-ik   CI.  —  Mantel  in  a   Chamber  of  the    Cook-Oliver   House 
Mantel  in  the  West  Chamber,  Peabody-Silsbee  House. 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

would  be  counted  among  the  most  perfect  of  Mc- 
Intire*s  work.  Both  of  the  bas-relief  panels  are 
nicely  modeled  and  the  ensemble  lacks  little  of  the 
daintiness  and  purity  of  Adam  work  in  marble, 
which  in  those  days  was  almost  prohibitive  in  price 
in  America. 

Two  other  Mclntire  chamber  mantels  with  reeded 
pilasters  form  an  interesting  comparison  to  show 
his  versatility  in  design.  The  simpler  of  the  two, 
that  in  the  chamber  over  the  parlor  of  the  Cook- 
Oliver  house,  at  once  attracts  attention  for  its  great 
breadth,  indicating  that  the  ornamental  cast-iron 
hobgrate  was  probably  of  later  date,  necessitating 
partial  closing  of  the  original  fireplace  opening. 
Many  such  were  built  into  Colonial  fireplaces  when 
coal  began  to  supersede  wood  as  a  fuel  for  heating. 
Aside  from  the  pilasters  virtually  all  fine-scale  de- 
tail is  confined  to  the  cornice,  in  which  he  has  de- 
parted from  conventional  forms  and  relied  upon 
original  ideas  of  his  own  with  happy  results.  Above 
fa  hand-tooled  dentil  course  like  that  in  a  chamber 
I  mantel  at  "The  Lindens",  already  referred  to, 
I  he  built  up  a  unique  substitute  for  cymatium  and 
corona  of  which  a  prominent  hand-tooled  rope 
molding  supplied  the  principal  member.  A  straight, 
square-edged  board  provided  the  shelf  proper. 

The  mantel  in  the  west  chamber  of  the  Peabody- 
Silsbee  house.  Number  380  Essex  Street,  erected 
in  1797,  resembles  the  foregoing,  but  is  richer,  more 

[197] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

slender  and  shows  greater  refinement.  Not  only 
are  the  pilasters  reeded,  but  a  fine-scale,  reeded  belt 
supplies  the  capitals  as  well  as  the  architrave  of  the 
entablature,  while  the  same  motive  used  in  connec- 
tion with  a  screw  bead  for  the  surbase  of  the  dado 
unifies  the  architectural  scheme  of  the  entire  room. 
A  conventional  cymatium  and  corona  separated  by 
a  torus  and  fillet,  the  whole  projecting  above  the 
pilasters,  replace  the  rope  and  accompanying  mold- 
ings of  the  foregoing  mantel ;  the  dentil  course  re- 
mains the  same.  The  frieze  is  essentially  Adam 
in  decoration  with  graceful  flanking  urns  and  central 
basket  of  fruit  and  flowers  in  a  sunken  oval  panel 
with  beaded  edge,  all  of  composition  applied. 

Early  in  his  career  as  a  carver  Mclntire  devoted 
considerable  attention  to  sculpture  in  wood,  a  field 
in  which  he  achieved  several  notable  successes. 
Having  embarked  upon  his  professional  career  in 
1782,  the  year  George  III  announced  his  readiness 
to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  it  was  natural  that  Mclntire  should  have 
been  inspired  by  those  fine  principles  of  liberty, 
justice  and  humanity  for  which  the  American  people 
had  fought  with  such  determination  and  fortitude. 
His  patriotic  fervor  prompted  him  to  excel  in  carv- 
ing that  symbol  of  American  ideals,  the  eagle,  and 
to  use  it  frequently  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Out- 
doors, as  a  sculpture  in  full  relief,  it  found  a  place 
atop  gateway  arches,  public  buildings,  cupolas  and 

[  198  ] 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

barns,  while  as  a  bas-relief  it  appeared  as  a  decora- 
tive panel  in  the  brick  walls  of  public  buildings 
and  as  a  supplementary  ornamental  head  above 
doorways.  Indoors  it  was  employed  to  adorn  the 
frieze  of  mantels. 

Two  splendid  instances  of  its  use  on  a  large  scale 
to  fill  the  central  panel  of  the  frieze  still  remain.  One 
of  these  is  to  be  seen  at  the  Essex  Institute,  whither 
it  was  taken  from  the  old  Registry  of  Deeds  at  the 
corner  of  Broad  and  Summer  streets,  erected  in 
1807,  when  that  building  was  taken  down  to  make 
way  for  the  former  State  Normal  School.  As  a 
whole  exceptionally  well  proportioned,  this  mantel 
displays  only  a  modest  amount  of  fine-scale  detail. 
The  dentil  course  provides  a  welcome  foil  for  the 
other  cornice  moldings  and  one  notes  with  pleasure 
that  the  reeded  pilasters  are  reflected  by  reeded 
sections  at  regular  intervals  in  the  surbase.  Deli- 
cate Adam  urns  in  applied  composition  adorn  the 
pilaster  projections  of  the  frieze,  while  a  screw  bead 
enriches  the  central  panel.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
the  shelf  projects  over  the  central  panel  of  the  frieze 
as  well  as  over  the  pilasters.  The  facings  of  the 
fireplace  opening  consist  of  blue  and  white  tiles 
depicting  Biblical  quotations. 

Reminiscent  of  this  mantel  a  heavier  and  more 
elaborate  one  in  the  northwest  parlor  of  the  Hosmer- 
Waters  house.  Number  80  Washington  Square, 
erected  in  1795,  is  particularly  interesting  as  exem- 

[  199] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

pllfying  the  use  of  a  profusion  of  applied  Adam 
detail,  with  the  American  eagle  carved  by  Mclntire 
himself  for  the  central  panel,  which  is  raised  but 
not  molded.  Exceptionally  wide,  the  vertical  cas- 
ings on  which  the  pilasters  are  mounted  permit 
considerable  extension  of  the  cornice,  frieze  and 
architrave.  Cymatium  and  corona  are  straight 
without  any  projections  whatever  and  support  a 
thin  supplementary  shelf  with  molded  edge.  The 
moldings  throughout  are  properly  of  modest  char- 
acter because  of  the  enrichment  of  the  frieze  and 
paneled  pilasters  with  festoons,  urns  and  straight- 
hanging  garlands.  Only  the  dentil  course  and  the 
vertical  fluted  architrave  bear  hand-tooling,  and 
that  is  of  simple  though  effective  character.  A 
brass  hob  grate,  very  English  in  appearance,  and 
set  in  slate,  fills  the  original  fireplace  opening  and  is 
accompanied  by  a  handsome  fire  set  including  a 
peculiar  poker  combining  a  pike  and  hook. 

Mclntire  also  carved  the  eagle  on  a  shield  as  the 
central  feature  of  a  military  group  including  swords, 
bugles,  flags,  cannon  and  balls,  drum  and  the  lie- 
tor's  fasces  of  olden  days.  Such  sculptured  groups 
of  wood  in  sunken  oval  frieze  panels  form  the  prin- 
cipal feature  of  Mclntire's  two  most  fanciful  mantels. 
One  is  located  in  the  front  parlor  of  the  Woman's 
Friend  Society,  Number  12  Elm  Street,  erected  in 
1800,  the  other  in  the  Kimball  house.  Number  14 
Pickman  Street,  erected  in  1800.     So  similar  yet  so 

[  200  ] 


Plate   CII.  —  Detail  of  Mantel  in  the  Kimball  House. 


Pi..\  1 1;    Cl\[.  —  Northwest    Parlor    Mantel,     Hosmer-Townsend- 

\V;it(,rs  Hou>e-,    Mantel  from  the  old  Registry  of 

Deeds  Building. 


Ma?itels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

diflferent  are  they  that  comparison  becomes  interest- 
ing as  showing  the  resourcefulness  of  their  designer. 
Although  considered  over-ornate  by  many,  none  can 
but  admire  the  intricate  carving  they  display,  for 
there  is  no  applied  work  on  either.  Even  the  screw 
reeds  of  the  columns  and  the  screw  bead  of  the 
cornices,  the  flowers  and  urns  of  the  oval  inserts 
as  well  as  the  central  sculptured  panels  were  carved 
out  of  wood.  In  both  instances  the  projection  of 
the  fireplace  into  the  room  suggested  carrying  the 
mantel  and  shelf  back  around  the  corners.  The 
fine-scale  fluted  pilasters  were  therefore  supplemented 
by  flanking  columns  to  support  the  projecting  cor- 
ners and  a  second  pair  of  pilasters  around  the 
corners  like  those  in  front.  But  the  most  unique 
feature  of  all  lies  in  the  dentil  course  with  its  widely 
spaced  trumpet-like  units,  possibly  suggested  by  the 
guttae  of  the  Doric  order.  Probably  no  designer 
before  Mclntire  ever  used  such  a  decoration  on  a 
mantel,  or  inserted  a  band  of  wooden  spheres  into 
the  edge  of  a  shelf  between  two  fillets  as  in  the 
Kimball  mantel. 

In  several  instances  Mclntire  employed  this  band 
of  spheres  to  replace  the  dentil  course  of  cornices. 
On  a  large  scale  it  appears  under  the  eaves  of  the 
Peabody-Silsbee  house,  while  on  a  small  scale  it 
figures  in  the  parlor  mantel  of  the  Home  for  Aged 
Women  on  Derby  Street.  Apart  from  the  Composite 
feeling  of  the  capitals   and  bases   of  the  engaged 

[  20I  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

columns,  the  detail  adheres  to  no  classic  order.  The 
columns  are  not  fluted ;  the  architrave  rather  than 
the  frieze  bears  most  of  the  ornament,  and  the 
cornice  or  shelf  is  a  thing  unto  itself.  Notwith- 
standing its  unique  traits  and  marked  unconven- 
tionality  this  mantel  is  much  admired.  Both  the 
sheaves  of  wheat  on  the  pilaster  projections  of  the 
frieze  and  the  applied  fruit  groups  in  alternation 
with  vertical  reeded  sections  in  the  architrave 
symbolize  the  fullness  of  the  harvest  and  present 
motives  especially  well  suited  to  country  house 
architecture. 

In  the  rear  parlor  at  the  Woman's  Friend  Society 
is  to  be  seen  another  unique  mantel,  featuring  one 
of  Mclntire's  sculptured  military  groups  of  wood, 
in  this  instance  the  sunken  oval  panel  being  edged 
with  a  tiny  ^%%  and  dart  composition  motive  which 
also  provides  the  bed  molding.  Pairs  of  slender 
colonnettes  support  the  complete  entablature  with 
corner  projections  extending  around  the  sides,  in- 
cluding the  surmounting  supplementary  shelf.  Here 
again  a  hand-tooled  rope  molding  replaces  the  con- 
ventional ovolo,  and  a  flat  band  with  tiny  triangular 
incisions  simulating  Doric  guttse  provides  a  unique 
substitute  for  the  dentil  course.  The  sheaves  of 
wheat  are  of  wood  nicely  carved  and  glued  to  the 
sunken  oval  panels  of  the  frieze  projections.  The 
ornamental  hob  grate  of  cast  iron  has  a  peculiar  two- 
piece  summer  blind.     This  mantel  came  from  the  old 

[  202  ] 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

residence  of  John  Robinson,  Number  2  Chestnut 
Street,  built  by  John  Stone  in  1826  and  now  known 
as  "The  Studio." 

Reminiscent  of  this  mantel  in  its  pairs  of  supports 
ing  colonnettes  and  comer  projections  of  the  shelf, 
that  in  the  parlor  of  the  Lindall-Bamard-Andrews 
house.  Number  393  Essex  Street,  differs  materially 
throughout  the  entablature.  The  latter  mantel  was 
designed  and  executed  by  Mclntire  in  1800.  It  is 
essentially  Adam  in  its  motives,  with  all  the  slender 
grace  and  refinement  of  detail  that  characterize 
genuine  prototypes.  Moreover  it  is  particularly 
interesting  for  the  fact  that  no  composition  work 
has  been  employed.  All  the  enrichment  of  the 
frieze,  including  the  central  basket  of  fruit  and 
flowers,  the  festoons  and  sheaves  of  wheat,  is  known 
to  be  Mclntire's  personal  carving  in  wood  applied 
with  glue.  Beneath  the  conventional  cymatium 
and  corona,  which  form  the  shelf  proper,  is  to  be 
seen  a  pleasingly  ingenious  modification  of  the  dentil 
course,  while  the  architrave  with  its  screw  bead  and 
delicate  vertical  fluted  groups  in  alternation  with 
festoon  borings  provides  the  motive  of  the  surbase, 
giving  an  Adam  character  to  the  dado  which  ties  to- 
gether the  architectural  features  of  the  room.  No 
small  measure  of  the  charming  ensemble  is  due  to 
the  beautiful  brass  andirons  and  fire  set,  for  both 
of  which  the  urn,  much  favored  by  Adam,  supplies 
the  chief  decoration. 

[  203  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

A  chimney  piece  in  one  of  the  chambers  of  the 
Lindall-Bamard-Andrews  house  is  likewise  of  con- 
siderably later  date  than  the  house.  Highly  ornate, 
with  a  profusion  of  applied  composition  detail,  in- 
cluding an  enriched  ovolo  and  vine  fret  along  the 
edge  of  the  shelf,  it  was  probably  not  the  work  of 
Mclntire,  as  it  lacks  his  rare  sense  of  proportion 
and  good  taste  in  the  selection  and  use  of  ornament. 
It  does  not,  for  instance,  stand  favorable  com- 
parison with  the  accompanying  corner  section  of  a 
known  Mclntire  mantel  in  a  third-floor  chamber 
of  the  old  Derby-Crowninshield-Rogers  mansion 
more  ornate  than  the  other  two  mantels  on  the  same 
floor  of  this  house  already  referred  to.  Paneled 
pilasters  support  a  rather  conventional  entablature 
much  like  several  previously  alluded  to.  Simple, 
planed  moldings  predominate,  the  only  departures 
being  the  double  denticulated  pattern  of  the  cornice 
and  the  ogee  enriched  with  Lesbian  leaf  composition 
edging  the  central  panel  of  the  frieze.  All  ornament 
is  confined  to  the  frieze  and  consists  of  favorite  Adam 
decorative  motives,  such  as  urns,  festooned  garlands, 
oval  medallions  and  a  central  bas-relief  of  figure 
work  in  an  oval  floral  setting  with  scroll  embellish- 
ments. 

The  finest  Salem  mantels  done  by  Mclntire  in 
the  Adam  manner,  exclusive  of  his  chimney  pieces, 
are  generally  regarded  as  those  in  the  parlors  of  the 
David  P.  Waters  house,  Number  14  Cambridge  Street, 

[204] 


Plate   CIV.  —  Parlor  iMantel,  Home   for  Aged   Women;   Front  . 
Parlor  Mantel,  Woman's  Friend  Society. 


Platk    CV,  —  Mantel    in    the    Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters 
House  •,    Parlor  Mantel,  Lindall-Barnard-Andrews  House. 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

erected  in  1805,  and  of  the  Crowninshield-Devereux- 
Waters  house,  Number  72  Washington  Square  East, 
also  erected  in  1805.  The  former  is  seen  to  be  an 
elaboration  of  much  that  has  already  been  considered, 
in  response  to  the  desire  for  richer  effect,  and  gives 
opportunity  for  an  instructive  study  in  recombin- 
ing  conventional  material.  Generally  speaking  this 
mantel  takes  the  form  of  that  in  the  west  chamber 
of  the  Peabody-Silsbee  house.  It  has  the  same 
reeded  pilasters  and  corresponding  projection  of 
the  entire  entablature,  the  same  sunken  oval  panel 
with  beaded  edge  and  applied  fruit  and  flower 
basket ;  also  the  same  cymatium,  corona  and  bed 
molding,  in  this  instance  employed  with  a  supple- 
mentary surmounting  square-edged  shelf  with  pro- 
jections like  those  of  the  cornice  beneath.  Mc- 
Intire's  favorite  fret-like  dentil  course  is  here  aug- 
mented by  his  well-known  screw  bead  above  it, 
replacing  the  plain  fillet  he  often  placed  there.  The 
sheaves  of  wheat  on  the  frieze  projections,  also  the 
architrave  motive,  recall  the  parlor  mantel  of  the 
Home  for  Aged  Women,  although  rosettes  instead 
of  tiny  fruit  baskets  here  alternate  with  the  vertical 
reeded  groups.  The  festooned  garlands  are  like 
those  of  the  east  front  chamber  mantel  in  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  but  the  ornament  in  the 
middle  above  each  consists  of  two  tiny  horns  of 
plenty  rather  than  a  small  fruit  and  flower  basket. 
Repetition  of  various   items  of  this   mantel  detail 

[205] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

in  the  cornice  and  surbase  of  the  room  show  how 
closely  the  entire  architectural  scheme  was  related. 
Three  round-topped  sections  lend  a  quaint  distinc- 
tion to  the  summer  blind. 

When  the  chimney  and  fireplace  construction  pro- 
jects into  the  room  and  a  large  mantel  glass  is  hung 
over  the  chimney  breast  the  resulting  effect  becomes 
virtually  that  of  a  chimney  piece,  especially  when  a 
heavy  cornice  is  a  feature  of  the  room,  as  in  the 
parlor  of  the  Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters  house. 
The  mantel  of  this  room  displays  great  refinement 
in  design  and  exceptional  precision  in  workmanship, 
the  dainty  moldings  being  exquisitely  carved   and 
the   applied-work  festoons — urns,  horns  of   plenty 
and  straight-hanging  garlands  —  of  slender  grace  and 
unusually  well  drawn.     Here  again  the  cornice  has 
been  made  heavier  by  an   additional  surmounting 
shelf  with  projections  at  the  ends  and  molded  at 
the  edge  with  a  torus  between  two  fillets.     A  bead 
and  reel  separate  the  cymatium  from  the  corona, 
beneath  which  in  place  of  the  usual  dentil  course 
occurs  a  nicely  carved  band  of  tiny  vertical  flu  tings 
between  exceedingly  fine-scale  ovolo  and  ogee  mold- 
ings.    Groups  of  vertical  flutings  at  regular  intervals 
adorn  the  architraves  about  the  fireplace  opening 
and  the  same  motive  is  used  for  the  surbase  of  the 
dado.     The    slightly    projecting    central    panel,    a 
bead  and  reel  oval  within  an  oblong  edged  with  a 
Lesbian  leaf  ogee,  contains  a  group  of  musical  in- 

[206] 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

struments  that  is  a  positive  gem  without  equal  in 
Salem.  Of  attractive  design,  the  brass  andirons 
are  perhaps  a  trifle  heavy  for  so  dainty  a  mantel, 
but  the  shovel  and  tongs  are  altogether  charming. 

To  a  somewhat  lesser  degree  than  a  mantel  mirror 
a  scenic  wall  paper  with  prominent  foreground  ob- 
jects sometimes  gives  the  effect  of  a  chimney  piece 
to  a  fireplace  construction  that  projects  into  the 
room.  As  a  case  in  point  may  be  mentioned  the 
parlor  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house,  on  Federal  Street. 
Here  a  famous  old  hand-blocked  Zuber  paper  from 
Alsace  depicts  the  panorama  of  Paris  from  the  Seine 
a  century  ago,  the  colors  being  grays,  greens,  and 
black  with  touches  of  red  and  yellow,  and  all  de- 
lightfully mellowed  with  age.  A  tree  of  striking 
shape  and  two  buildings  are  spaced  exactly  right 
to  emphasize  the  projection  of  the  fireplace  con- 
struction and  to  make  the  mantel  seem  a  support 
for  this  scenic  effect. 

Like  many  other  features  of  the  house  this  mantel 
was  designed  and  executed  by  Mclntire  in  1799  for 
the  Eli  as  Hasket  Derby  mansion,  and  removed  to 
its  present  location  after  Mr.  Derby's  death.  Deli- 
cate in  design  and  superbly  executed,  few  Salem 
mantels  measure  up  to  it  despite  its  essentially  simple 
character.  Daintier  moldings  than  the  cymatium 
of  the  cornice  with  its  tiny  accompanying  bead  and 
the  ovolo  of  the  architrave,  both  enriched  with 
acanthus  leaf  composition  work,  it  would  be  difficult 

[207] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

to  conceive,  while  the  quirked  ogee  molding  about 
the  fireplace  opening  displays  an  interesting  pattern 
embodying  a  connected  series  of  rosettes  with  a 
bead.  The  denticulated  molding  is  nicely  hand- 
tooled  and  consists  of  a  square  dentil  and  reed  cross 
section  in  alternation,  each  dentil  being  vertical 
fluted  and  each  reed  cross  section  having  a  tiny 
drill  hole  in  its  center.  A  flat  unadorned  central 
panel  with  applied  groups  of  musical  instruments 
on  the  projections  at  each  end  provides  the  some- 
what meager  decoration  of  the  frieze,  while  slender 
festooned  garlands  on  the  architrave  lend  an  Adam 
character,  as  does  the  ingenious  sole  reliance  upon 
the  acanthus  leaf  ornamentation  of  the  capitals  of 
the  two  slender  reeded  colonnettes.  The  surbase 
of  the  dado  displays  a  delicate  incised  guilloche  con- 
sisting of  two  entwined  bands  or  fillets,  one  a  flat 
ribbon  and  the  other  made  up  of  repeated  round 
disks.  It  suggests  a  modification  of  the  lozenge 
fret  with  segmental  sides.  By  no  means  the  least 
interesting  feature  of  this  fireplace  is  the  handsome 
brass  hob  grate  set  in  soapstone,  the  first  of  its  kind 
ever  placed  in  a  Salem  house  and  at  the  time  con- 
sidered a  great  extravagance. 

Coming  now  to  the  true  chimney  piece,  that  by 
Mclntire  in  the  east  parlor  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  house  is  generally  regarded  the  finest  in 
Salem.  Done  in  the  Adam  manner  it  combines 
motives    from    the   denticulated    Doric,    Ionic    and 

[208] 


3 
O 

X 


o 

o 

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V 


V 

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Plate  CVII.  —  Fireplace  in  the  Crowninshield-Devereux-Waters 
House;    Mantel  in  the  David  P.  Waters  Reception  Room. 


Mantels  and  Chimney   Pieces 

Corinthian  orders  with  a  skillful  ingenuity  that  is 
altogether  charming,  despite  all  purist  cries  of 
anachronism.  Generally  speaking  the  mantel  re- 
calls others  previously  described,  notably  that  in 
the  David  P.  Waters  parlor,  but  shows  greater 
refinement  in  every  detail,  while  the  overmantel 
has  been  developed  into  a  single  large  and  elabo- 
rately framed  panel  over  the  chimney  breast.  By 
extending  the  cornice  and  frieze  of  the  room  around 
the  chimney  breast  and  carrying  a  pilaster  effect 
from  the  shelf  up  through  them,  they  have  been 
made  virtually  a  part  of  the  chimney  piece  and  a 
means  to  relate  it  closely  to  the  architectural  setting 
of  the  entire  room.  The  hand-tooled  moldings  are 
refined  and  finished  in  workmanship,  the  applied 
composition  detail  delicate,  graceful  and  exquisitely 
drawn.  One  notices  the  repeated  use  of  Mclntire's 
favorite  double  denticulated  and  vertical  reeded 
ovolo  moldings  in  the  cornices  of  the  room  and 
mantel ;  yet  while  the  form  is  preserved  these  have 
been  varied  in  detail  by  the  festoon  motive  in  ap- 
plied work  on  the  lower  corona  and  the  shallow 
upper  series  of  vertical  cuttings  in  the  lower  dentil 
course.  In  fact,  delightful  variety  combined  with 
complete  harmony  throughout  avoids  monotony 
and  preserves  good  taste. 

Reeded  pilasters  with  Ionic  capitals  support  the 
frieze  and  cornice  or  shelf  of  the  mantel,  while 
paneled   pilasters   with   charmingly   slender   applied 

[209] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

work  are  employed  for  the  overmantel,  their  acanthus 
leaf  capitals  in  accord  with  the  Corinthian  capitals 
of  the  heavy  flanking  pilasters  of  the  room.  Nicely 
fluted  architraves  and  marble  facings  about  the 
fireplace  opening  lend  a  sense  of  refinement  that  is 
enhanced  by  handsome,  heavy  brass  andirons  and 
an  accompanying  fire  set.  The  applied  figures  and 
other  ornaments  of  the  mantel  frieze  recall  those 
of  the  Captain  Edward  Allen  house,  but  are  better 
drawn,  and  the  garlands  are  more  slender  and 
elaborate.  The  central  oval  panel  and  the  figures 
on  the  pilaster  projections  at  each  side  are  carved 
in  wood ;  the  garlands  are  composition.  A  beauti- 
ful vine  pattern  in  applied  composition  adorns  the 
architrave  frame  of  the  overmantel  that  surrounds 
a  gilt  Adam  mantel  glass  of  rare  beauty.  This 
pattern  appears  to  be  the  same  as  that  employed  in 
the  east  front  chamber  mantel  of  this  house  already 
illustrated.  Surmounting  the  entire  construction, 
the  handsome  heavy  cornice  of  the  room,  composed 
of  hand-tooled  moldings,  repeats  that  of  the  mantel- 
shelf on  a  large  scale,  while  the  frieze  with  rosettes 
and  vertical  reeded  groups  in  alternation  on  a  flat 
ground  is  very  effective.  As  a  whole  the  effect  is 
one  of  quiet  elegance  and  graceful  dignity. 


[210] 


CHAPTER  XI 

PUBLIC   BUILDINGS 

VARIED  and  interesting  are  the  Colonial  public 
buildings  of  Salem,  especially  if  institutional 
homes,  halls,  societies,  clubs,  etc.,  be  included  under 
this  broad  classification. 

Because  of  their  spaciousness  and  large  number 
of  rooms,  the  three-story  square  houses  of  brick  built 
during  the  early  nineteenth  century  lend  themselves 
admirably  to  adaptation  as  semi-public  institutions, 
and  several  splendid  old  mansions  have  been  so 
utilized.  Thus  in  1896  the  Father  Mathew  Catholic 
Total  Abstinence  Society,  organized  in  1875,  pur- 
chased the  Tucker-Rice  house  at  Number  129  Essex 
Street  for  its  headquarters,  and  considerably  remod- 
eled it.  This  large  three-story  brick  mansion  with 
its  roomy  L  was  designed  by  Samuel  Mclntire  and 
erected  in  1800.  Much  of  the  handsome  interior 
wood  trim  remains,  but  the  splendid  elliptical  porch, 
one  of  the  best  proportioned  in  Salem,  was  removed 
to  the  garden  of  the  Essex  Institute  for  preservation, 
where  it  may  now  be  seen  with  a  contemporary 
three-piece  door  from  the  Rogers  house  on  Essex 
Street  and  glasswork  of  attractive  pattern. 

[211] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

At  Number  12  Elm  Street  the  Woman's  Friend 
Society,  a  charitable  institution  organized  in  1876, 
occupies  two  large  brick  dwellings  of  former  days. 
The  northern  portion  was  donated  by  Captain  John 
Bertram  in  1879,  and  in  1889  the  southern  portion  was 
purchased  through  the  generosity  of  others  interested 
in  the  work.  Here  the  society  conducts  a  home  for 
girls  at  moderate  rates,  an  employment  bureau,  a 
mission  for  the  distribution  of  flowers  and  delicacies 
to  the  sick,  and  maintains  a  visiting  nurse  and  a  loan 
closet  of  hospital  supplies,  bedding,  etc. 

This  building  is  an  interesting  example  of  the  early 
Salem  double  house,  of  which  there  are  several  less 
notable  examples.  It  consists  of  two  end-to-the-street 
houses  with  doorways  at  each  side  and  service  wings 
in  the  rear  standing  back  to  back,  as  one  might 
say,  and  to  all  outward  appearance  built  as  one  house. 
A  brick  fire  wall  separated  the  two  houses  absolutely, 
however,  until  in  1889  openings  were  cut  through  the 
party  wall  so  that  what  had  formerly  been  numbered 
12  and  14  Elm  Street  might  be  used  as  a  single  house. 
The  interior  wood  trim  is  excellent,  including  mantels 
shown  in  Chapter  IX  and  two  good  short  hall  stair- 
ways, one  a  "  winder  *'  and  the  other  a  broken-flight 
open  newel  staircase. 

The  Mack  Industrial  School,  Number  17  Pickman 
Street,  occupies  a  gray-painted,  oblong,  three-story 
brick  house  with  two  tall  chimneys  symmetrically 
located  at  each  end  and  in  general  appearance  some- 

[212] 


^m  I  k 


Mtll 


wdiiiiiiii 


Plate     CVIII.  — Woman's     Friend    Society,    12     Elm     Street. 

Erected  1800  ;  Tucker-Rice  House,  now  the  Father  Mathew 

Society,  129  Essex  Street.      Erected  1800. 


Plaik   CIX.  —  Bertram  Home  for  Aged  Men,  114  Derby  Street. 

Erected  1X06-7;    Mack  Industrial  School,  17  Pickman  Street. 

Erected  about  1800. 


Public  Buildings 

what  reminiscent  of  the  main  part  of  the  Mansfield- 
Bolles  house,  except  for  the  projecting  bands  of 
brickwork  at  each  floor  level,  as  on  the  Gardner- 
White-Pi  ngree  house,  and  the  flat  stone  lintels.  Built 
as  a  private  residence  about  1800,  this  unpretentious 
but  good  dwelling  was  converted  to  use  as  a  school  for 
girls  after  the  institution  now  occupying  it  had  been 
founded  in  1897  as  a  result  of  the  bequest  of  Esther 
Mack.  Instruction  is  given  in  needlework,  dress- 
making, cooking  and  other  domestic  sciences.  A 
new  door  replaces  the  original,  and  while  possessed 
of  Colonial  feeling  can  hardly  be  said  to  reflect  the 
true  spirit  of  Salem  design. 

A  handsome  three-story  brick  mansion  at  Number 
114  Derby  Street  now  serves  as  the  Bertram  Home 
for  Aged  Men,  founded  by  Captain  John  Bertram  in 
1877.  The  house  was  erected  in  1 806-1 807  for  Captain 
Joseph  Waters  and  evokes  admiration  for  its  pleasing 
fenestration  with  handsome  keyed  marble  lintels 
and  big  pedimental  doorway  in  the  spirit  of  con- 
temporaneous Philadelphia  work.  The  side  entrance 
holds  considerable  interest  as  an  early  example  of  the 
portico  utilized  as  a  veranda,  in  which  the  hipped 
portico  roof  is  carried  over  the  two-story  "jut-by" 
of  the  L.  The  bay  window  on  the  street  side  is  an 
unfortunate  modern  addition.  For  many  years  the 
west  end  of  the  house  was  the  home  of  Judge  Joseph 
G.  Waters. 

The  substantial  front  portion  of  the  building  at 

[213] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Number  i8o  Derby  Street,  erected  in  1810  after 
designs  by  Samuel  Mclntire,  and  now  the  Home  for 
Aged  Women,  was  originally  the  residence  of 
Benjamin  W.  Crowninshield,  congressman  and  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  under  Presidents  Madison  and 
Monroe.  When  the  latter  toured  New  England  in 
1817,  this  house  was  placed  at  his  disposal  during  the 
four  days  of  his  stay  in  Salem.  At  the  banquet 
tendered  to  him  there  on  July  9,  Commodores  Perry 
and  Bainbridge,  Generals  Miller  and  Dearborn, 
Senator  Silsbee,  Lieutenant-Governor  William  Gray, 
Judge  Story  and  other  eminent  men  were  present. 
Later  the  house  became  the  residence  of  General 
James  Miller  during  his  term  as  Collector  of  the  Port 
from  1825  to  1849.  He,  it  will  be  recalled,  was  the 
hero  of  Lundy's  Lane,  and  his  was  the  famous  reply 
"Fll  try,  sir,"  that  was  stamped  on  the  buttons  of 
his  regiment  by  order  of  the  government.  In  1826 
William  C.  Endicott,  Secretary  of  War  during  Cleve- 
land's first  administration,  was  born  here. 

It  was,  however,  through  the  generosity  of  a  still 
later  owner,  Robert  Brookhouse,  a  wealthy  merchant 
prominent  in  the  African  trade,  that  the  house  was 
donated  to  the  Association  for  the  Relief  of  Aged 
and  Destitute  Women,  organized  in  1869  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Reverend  Michael  Carlton,  city  missionary. 
In  1896  the  structure  was  enlarged  considerably  at 
an  expense  of  ^50,000,  and  in  1916  further  extensive 
alterations  were  made. 

[214] 


Public  Buildings 

This  hip-roofed  mansion  is  almost  devoid  of  orna- 
mentation except  for  the  marble  lintels  and  sills 
of  the  windows  and  the  Doric  porch  of  the  utmost 
simplicity  and  chaste  appearance.  It  is  eloquent 
in  substantial  comfort,  however,  and  fulfills  its 
present  purpose  admirably. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  private  residences 
converted  to  public  uses  no  longer  remains.  It  was 
the  former  Salem  Cadet  Armory  at  Number  136 
Essex  Street,  razed  just  prior  to  the  erection  of  the 
present  armory  in  1908.  The  site  includes  land  oc- 
cupied in  part  by  the  house  of  Governor  Simon 
Bradstreet,  alluded  to  in  Chapter  I,  which  was  built 
in  1640  by  Emanuel  Downing  and  torn  down  about 
1750. 

The  armory  of  1890  with  its  drill  shed  in  the  rear 
and  to  the  left,  as  shown  by  the  accompanying 
photograph,  was  erected  in  1819-1821  by  Captain 
Joseph  Peabody,  a  merchant  prominent  in  the 
Calcutta  trade,  for  his  eldest  son,  Joseph  Augustus, 
and  for  many  years  was  the  home  of  his  grandson, 
Colonel  Francis  Peabody.  Among  the  first  bow- 
fronted  houses  erected  in  Salem,  it  had  the  decked 
hip  roof  and  belvedere  characteristic  of  most  resi- 
dences of  the  time,  the  classic  balustrade  following 
the  double-bowed  contour  of  the  eaves.  The  Ionic 
entrance  porch  appears  to  have  been  suggested  by 
that  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee  house,  but  the  door  is 
three  panels  wide  like  most  others  of  approximately 

[215] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

the  same  date.  It  was  the  fenestration  that  gave 
individuality  to  the  facade  as  much  as  the  double-bow 
front.  On  the  first  floor  three-piece  sashes  like  those 
of  the  Gardner  and  Thompson  houses  were  employed 
in  front ;  on  the  second  floor  common  twelve-paned, 
double-hung  windows  were  used  throughout,  while 
on  the  top  floor  the  foreshortened  windows  consisted 
of  a  lower  six-  and  an  upper  three-paned  sash.  Square- 
headed  mullion  windows  pierce  the  flat  central  wall 
spaces  on  each  floor  above  the  porch,  the  arrangement 
being  a  narrow  window  each  side  of  one  of  normal 
width,  slender  Corinthian  colonnettes  supporting 
the  lintels  and  adorning  the  mullions.  The  highly 
ornamental  marble  lintels  appear  to  have  been  in- 
spired by  those  of  the  Dodge-Shreve  house,  those  of 
the  first  story  being  identical,  of  the  third  story 
similar,  and  of  the  second  story  a  pleasing  adaptation 
of  the  Adam  festooned  drapery  nicely  cut  in  stone. 
The  lintels  of  the  mullioned  windows  were  especially 
attractive  and  the  iron  balustrades  of  the  balconies 
at  the  first-floor  windows  and  over  the  porch,  simple 
and  graceful  in  pattern,  enriched  the  ensemble  to  a 
marked  degree. 

Perhaps  the  best  known  of  the  interior  features 
of  this  house  was  the  "banqueting  hall"  where 
Prince  Arthur  of  England  was  entertained  at  dinner 
on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  George  Peabody,  the 
Lx)ndon  banker,  February  8,  1870.  This  spacious 
room  was  elaborately  finished  in  intricately  carved 

[216I 


Public  Buildings 

oak  In  the  Gothic  style  of  the  Elizabethan  period.  At 
one  end  a  stained-glass  window  consisting  of  four 
panels  displayed  representations  of  both  sides  of  the 
Massachusetts  seal,  the  seal  of  the  city  of  Salem  and 
the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Peabody  family.  At  the  other 
end  a  fireplace  with  Dutch  jambs  was  surmounted 
by  a  heavy  and  elaborately  carved  chimney  piece 
with  niches  for  statuettes.  Queen  Victoria  was  the 
subject  of  the  central  figure,  supported  by  mailed 
figures  at  each  side,  while  a  Hon  surmounted  the 
whole  with  a  guardsman  on  one  side  and  a  priest  on 
the  other.  When  the  house  was  razed  In  1908  the 
wood  finish  of  this  room  was  preserved  and  It  now 
adorns  one  of  the  smaller  halls  In  the  Masonic  Temple. 

The  stately  three-story  brick  mansion  at  Number 
29  Washington  Square  Is  now  the  home  of  the  Salem 
Club.  Built  In  1 81 8  for  John  Forrester,  It  was  later 
enlarged  and  occupied  for  many  years  as  the  town 
residence  of  the  late  Colonel  George  Peabody,  one  of 
Salem's  most  successful  merchants,  particularly  In  the 
Russian  trade,  a  fine  musician  and  lover  of  art. 
Among  his  prized  possessions  which  adorned  the 
interior  was  one  of  Murlllo's  famous  paintings  of  the 
"Immaculate  Conception",  valued  at  ^100,000.  The 
porch  and  doorway  are  much  admired  as  among  the 
most  effective  of  the  simple  Corinthian  entrances  In 
Salem  and  display  excellent  glass  and  Iron  work. 

The  number  of  Salem  institutions  housed  in  old 
dwellings  is  indeed  remarkable.    Besides  the  seven 

[217] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

instances  already  referred  to,  six  more  may  be  added, 
viz. :  the  Salem  Public  Library,  Seaman's  Orphan 
and  Children's  Friend  Society,  Knights  of  Columbus. 
Now  and  Then  Association,  Order  of  Elks  and  The 
Kemwood  Country  Club,  although  none  of  the 
buildings  they  occupy  is  of  sufficient  interest  from  the 
standpoint  of  Colonial  architecture  to  call  for  illustra- 
tions in  these  pages.  In  striking  contrast  to  this 
array,  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  old  Assembly  Hall, 
built  expressly  for  public  functions,  long  ago  became 
a  private  residence.  Although  Mclntire  is  known 
primarily  as  an  architect  of  homes  his  versatility  led 
him  as  early  as  1782  to  design  this  building  at  Number 
138  Federal  Street,  the  assembly  house  of  the  Feder- 
als. At  once  upon  its  erection  it  became  one  of  the 
foremost  social  centers  of  the  town  and  the  scene 
of  receptions,  balls,  banquets  and  other  functions. 
Here  Lafayette  dined  during  his  first  triumphal 
tour  in  America  in  1784,  and  here  also  Washington 
danced  at  a  ball  given  in  his  honor  in  1789.  In  1795 
the  building  was  remodeled  for  dwelling  puiposes, 
Judge  Samuel  Putnam  being  among  those  who  have 
since  occupied  it. 

This  hip-roofed  house  with  its  surmounting  belve- 
dere bespeaks  attention  chiefly  for  the  elaboration 
of  its  flat-boarded  facade  with  Ionic  pilasters  on  the 
second  story  under  the  broad  pediment,  within 
which  a  pleasing  semi-circular  fanlight  is  located  to 
admit  light  to  the  attic.    Unlike  the  front,  the  side 

[218] 


Public  Buildings 

and  rear  walls  of  the  house  are  clapboarded,  a  com- 
mon custom  of  the  time.  The  porch,  probably  of 
much  later  origin,  claims  special  notice  because  of 
its  festoons,  ornamental  scroll  antefixes  at  the  comers 
and  heavy  grapevine  frieze,  the  leaves  and  fruit  being 
life-size  and  carved  out  of  wood  in  a  masterly  manner. 

Regarding  the  old  Courthouse  of  1785,  Mclntire's 
second  venture  in  designing  public  buildings,  the 
Massachusetts  Magazine  for  March,  1790,  states  : 

"The  Court  Houfe  in  Salem,  is  a  large,  elegant 
building,  and  ftands  towards  the  end  of  a  handsome 
fpacious  street.  On  the  lower  floor,  on  the  eaftern  fide 
is  a  range  of  offices,  large  and  convenient ;  one  of 
which  is  occupied  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  for  the  county  of  Effex,  in  which  are  kept 
all  the  records  of  the  court :  The  other  two  are  ufed  as 
offices,  for  the  Selectmen  and  affeffors  of  the  town  of 
Salem.  The  remainder  of  the  lower  ftory  is  a  fine 
capacious  area,  for  walking  etc. 

"The  second  [tory  is  compofed  of  a  large  court 
hall,  with  feats  on  every  side,  for  the  Judges,  officers 
of  the  court,  and  for  the  auditors  —  faid  to  be  the  best 
conftructed  room,  for  the  holding  of  courts,  of  any 
in  the  Commonwealth,  and  perhaps  is  not  exceeded 
by  any  in  the  United  States.  In  the  ceiling  is  a  hand- 
some ventilator.  Back  of  the  Judges'  feat  is  a  Vene- 
tian window,  highly  finished  in  the  lonick  order; 
which  affords  a  beautiful  profpect  of  a  fine  river, 
extenfive  well  cultivated  fields  and  groves ;  in  addition 

[219] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

to  which  the  paffing  and  repaffing  of  veffels  contin- 
ually, in  the  river,  makes  a  pleafing  variety.  There 
is  alfo  on  this  floor  a  convenient  lobby  for  Jurors 
etc.  This  houfe  was  begun  in  1785,  and  completed 
in  1786,  at  the  joint  expenfe  of  the  county  of  Effex 
and  town  of  Salem.  The  plan  of  it  was  defigned 
by  the  ingenious  Mr.  Samuel  M'Intire  and  executed 
by  that  able  architect,  Mr.  Daniel  Bancroft,  both  of 
Salem." 

Felt,  in  his  "Annals  of  Salem",  amplifies  this 
description  as  follows  : 

"It  was  planned  by  Samuel  Mclntire,  and  built 
under  the  direction  of  Daniel  Bancroft,  two  ingenious 
architects.  It  was  two  stories  high,  sixty-two  feet  long 
and  thirty-six  and  two-thirds  feet  broad.  It  was  fin- 
ished in  1786.  Itscostwas^7,i45,paid,  one  moiety  by 
the  town  and  the  other  by  the  county.  Its  walls  were 
of  brick  and  its  roof  surmounted  by  a  cupola.  On 
the  front  or  southern  end  of  it  was  a  balustrade 
opening  into  the  second  story,  supported  by  a  row  of 
Tuscan  pillars.  Under  the  balustrade  were  wide 
stone  steps,  which  could  accommodate  a  large  number 
of  persons  and  which  led  into  a  door  of  the  lower 
hall.  On  the  east  side  of  this  hall  were  several  oifices 
and  the  rest  was  left  open  for  public  assemblies  and 
the  exercise  of  military  companies.  The  part  thus 
occupied  for  the  last  purposes  was  too  often  ap- 
propriated by  unruly  boys  to  their  boisterous  sports 
and   destructive   propensities,    until    large    bulls  of 

[  220  ] 


\hi.'\v ,/ /A'  (^oriri'  ii()r>'k.///  -  ^^///,.  /^^i>////// 


Plate  CXII.  —  The  Old  Courthouse  of  1785.      From  an  Engrav- 
ing in  the  Massachusetts  Magazine  of  1790;   Interior  of 
Washington  Hall.      Erected  1792.      Razed  1898. 


Plai  K   CXIII. —  Hamilton    Hall,    Chestnut   Street.      Erected    1805; 
Fireplaces,  Vaulted  and  Groined  Ceiling,  Hamilton  Hall. 


Public  Buildings 

authority  sounded  in  their  ears  and  drove  them  from 
the  premises." 

The  records  at  City  Hall  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
total  cost  of  the  Courthouse  was  considerably  greater 
than  Felt  states.  An  additional  appropriation  of  six 
thousand  dollars  and  another  of  three  thousand 
dollars  are  mentioned,  and  such  a  brick  building  must 
obviously  have  cost  at  least  twenty  thousand  dollars 
even  in  those  days. 

This  building,  erected  in  1785,  was  located  in  the 
middle  of  Washington  Street,  north  end,  about 
opposite  the  Tabernacle  Church,  as  shown  by  several 
old  steel  engravings  and  a  contemporary  oil  painting 
to  be  seen  at  the  Essex  Institute.  There  it  stood 
until  its  removal  was  necessitated  by  the  building  of 
the  railroad  tunnel  beneath ;  then  the  porch  columns 
were  taken  to  the  Chase  house.  Number  21  Federal 
Street.  From  the  balcony  over  the  porch  of  the  Court- 
house George  Washington  was  presented  to  the 
townspeople  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit,  October  29, 
1789.  And  as  he  stood  bowing  his  acknowledgments 
to  the  acclaim  of  the  populace,  Mclntire,  seated 
at  a  window  near  by,  studied  the  features  of  the 
first  President  minutely  and  made  a  sketch  which 
formed  the  basis  for  his  famous  profile  bas-relief, 
38  X  56  inches  and  executed  in  wood,  which  for 
years  adorned  the  architectural  gateway  at  the 
western  entrance  of  the  Common  and  now  hangs 
in  the  Essex  Institute. 

[221  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

In  1792  Washington  Hall,  formerly  at  Number  loi 
Washington  Street,  was  erected  after  plans  by 
Mclntlre,  and  as  the  assembly  hall  of  the  Democrats 
became  a  prominent  social  center  of  the  time.  Dedi- 
cated on  the  anniversary  of  Washington's  birthday, 
February  22,  1793,  just  previous  to  his  second 
assumption  of  the  presidency  and  amid  great  re- 
joicings over  the  success  of  the  French  Revolution,  it 
was  the  scene  of  a  notable  banquet  at  which  the 
Reverend  William  Bentley  made  the  principal 
oration.  This  quaint  hall,  located  on  the  third  floor 
of  the  Steams  Building  above  stores  and  offices, 
presented  a  curious  Survival  in  the  Doric  style  of  the 
old-time  English  assembly  room,  with  built-in  seats 
along  the  walls,  fireplace  and  a  music  gallery  at  one 
end.  The  balustrade  of  this  gallery  is  preserved  at 
the  Essex  Institute.  In  later  days  the  hall  became  a 
theater,  but  being  unsuited  to  present-day  uses  the 
entire  building  has  been  replaced  by  a  modem 
structure. 

Hamilton  Hall,  at  the  comer  of  Chestnut  and 
Cambridge  streets,  also  designed  by  Mclntire,  was 
erected  in  1805  by  the  South  Building  Corporation, 
an  association  of  wealthy  men,  as  a  place  for  as- 
semblies and  named  for  their  much-admired  friend 
Alexander  Hamilton,  who  had  visited  Salem  in  1800. 
Here  Lafayette  dined  with  three  hundred  guests  on 
August  31,  1824,  during  his  second  triumphal  Amer- 
ican tour,  when  he  was  presented  with  ^200,000  and 

[  222  ] 


Public  Buildings 

a  township  of  land  by  the  government,  in  recognition 
of  his  service  to  the  nation  during  the  Revolution. 
Here,  likewise.  Commodore  William  Bainbridge,  who 
succeeded  Captain  Isaac  Hull  as  commander  of  the 
frigate  Constitution,  also  Timothy  Pickering,  a  politi- 
cian with  a  record  of  public  service  equalled  by  few 
Americans,  were  accorded  the  full  measure  of  Salem 
hospitality.  In  fact,  ever  since  its  erection,  this 
building  has  remained  the  very  heart  of  the  city's 
social  activities. 

Exteriorly  the  structure  boasts  little  adornment 
except  its  purely  utilitarian  features.  The  entrance 
porch  at  one  end  has  been  so  remodeled  as  to  make 
it  difficult  to  judge  with  certainty  regarding  its 
original  appearance.  The  sides,  however,  remain 
unchanged,  except  that  the  brickwork  has  been 
painted,  and  are  pierced  on  the  second  and  principal 
floor  by  five  Palladian  windows  of  simple  character, 
somewhat  recessed  under  a  double  arch  of  brick 
headers.  A  rectangular  insert  panel  above  each 
window  displays  a  Mclntire  sculpture,  that  in  the 
center  being  one  of  his  well-known  eagles,  and  the 
others  consisting  of  the  festooned  drapery  which  he 
often  used  on  a  smaller  scale  to  adorn  doorways  and 
mantels. 

Dignified  simplicity  characterizes  the  interior  treat- 
ment of  the  hall,  with  its  groined  ceiling  and  heavy 
cornice  supported  by  fluted  pilasters.  Two  fireplaces 
and  a  music  balcony  comprise  the  principal  interior 

[223  1 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

features  and  are  distinguished  by  Mclntire's  careful 
attention  to  detail  and  proportion. 

Unfortunately  not  a  single  church  standing  to-day 
represents  old-time  Salem.  Of  the  several  edifices 
of  architectural  merit,  erected  prior  to  1818,  notably 
the  East  Church  on  Essex  Street  between  Hardy  and 
Bentley  streets,  where  the  historian.  Reverend 
William  Bentley,  preached  for  thirty-six  years,  and 
the  South  Church  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Cam- 
bridge Street,  not  one  is  left  in  anywhere  near  its 
original  appearance.  Only  the  South  Church  re- 
mained unaltered  long  enough  to  be  photographed. 

In  this  noble  church,  erected  in  1804,  Mclntire 
manifested  his  versatility  in  design.  The  structure 
was  of  wood,  66  by  80  feet,  with  a  graceful  spire  after 
the  Wren  manner  166  feet  high,  and  cost  $23,819.78, 
including  the  land.  As  in  his  other  work  Mclntire 
employed  the  orders  with  considerable  freedom. 
While  generally  speaking  Ionic,  with  touches  of  Adam 
detail  here  and  there,  the  cornice,  frieze  and  flat 
pilasters  of  the  bell  deck  were  pure  Doric.  When 
completed,  this  church  was  considered  one  of  Mc- 
lntire's greatest  achievements.  The  North  American 
Review  for  October,  1836,  contains  the  following 
appreciative  description  of  it  by  James  Gallier, 
architect : 

"One  of  the  best-proportioned  steeples  in  our 
country  is  at  Salem,  in  Massachusetts ;  the  work  of  a 
native  artist.  The  whole  church  is  the  best  specimen 

[  224  ] 


Public  Buildings 

of  architecture  in  that  city,  notwithstanding  the 
various  efforts  which  have  been  made  since  its 
erection.  We  are  not  aware  that  it  has  any  name ; 
but  the  building  will  easily  be  recognized  as  the  only 
church  in  Chestnut  Street.  The  Ionic  portico  in  front 
is  uncommonly  elegant,  though  simple  and  unpre- 
tending. Above  this  rises  the  steeple  to  the  height  of 
nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Its  principal  merit 
is  beauty  of  proportion,  which  is  not  equalled  in  any 
steeple  that  we  know  of  in  the  United  States. " 

This  Orthodox  Congregational  society  originated 
as  the  result  of  a  separation  from  the  Tabernacle 
Church  in  1774,  under  the  leadership  of  Colonel 
Timothy  Pickering.  Until  its  church  was  erected  the 
new  society  occupied  an  assembly  hall  that  stood  on 
adjoining  land  and  in  which  many  notable  functions 
were  held  before  the  Revolution,  among  them  a 
reception  tendered  to  General  Gage  on  the  last  King's 
Birthday  celebrated  in  Massachusetts.  It  was  from 
the  bell  deck  of  the  old  South  Church  that  Captain 
Oliver  Thayer  watched  the  naval  battle  between  the 
Chesapeake  and  the  Shannon  in  June,  1 81 3.  Below 
this  bell  deck  the  base  of  the  steeple,  clapboarded  like 
the  building  proper,  had  quoined  corners  after  the 
manner  of  stone  work.  Within  this  steeple  was 
housed  an  interesting  piece  of  home-made  mechanism, 
said  to  have  been  constructed  by  a  Beverly  black- 
smith, possibly  Samuel  Luscomb,  who  also  made  the 
clock  for  the  East  Church.    The  clock  in  the  South 

[225] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Church  was  originally  in  the  First  Church  at  Essex 
and  Washington  streets,  then  removed  to  the  Old 
North  Church  on  North  Street  in  1826  and  finally 
to  the  South  Church  ten  years  later.  It  had  no  face 
but  struck  the  hour.  An  iron  frame,  a  pendulum  ten 
feet  long  and  weights  consisting  of  wooden  boxes  filled 
with  stones  were  among  the  curious  features  of  its 
works. 

A  large  crystal  chandelier  imported  in  1807  was  a 
distinctive  adornment  of  the  interior.  It  had  arms 
for  thirty  candles  and  is  said  to  have  cost  a  thousand 
dollars.  For  ninety-nine  years  this  edifice  continued 
to  be  one  of  Salem's  most  picturesque  landmarks 
until  destroyed  by  fire  in  1903.  Several  of  the  hand- 
carved  urns  from  the  steeple  are  preserved  at  the 
Essex  Institute. 

During  Mclntire's  active  practice  from  1782  to 
181 1  the  people  of  Salem  did  not  find  it  necessary  or 
desirable  to  seek  architectural  talent  for  their  im- 
portant public  buildings  elsewhere.  Upon  Mclntire's 
death  in  181 1,  however,  Bentley  wrote  in  his  diary 
that  "no  man  is  left  to  be  consulted  upon  a  new  plan 
of  execution  beyond  his  bare  practise",  and  in  cor- 
roboration of  this,  Charles  Bulfinch,  the  eminent 
Boston  architect,  designer  of  the  Massachusetts 
State  House  in  1798  and  architect  of  the  National 
Capitol  at  Washington  succeeding  B.  H.  Latrobe  in 
18 18,  designed  the  Essex  Bank  in  181 1  at  Number  11 
Central  Street,  now  the  home  of  the  Salem  Fraternity, 

[  226  ] 


Plate   CXIV.  —  The  Old  South  Church.      Erected   1804. 
Burned  1903. 


Plate  CXV.  — The  Market  House,  Derby  Square.      Erected  1816  ; 
The  Salem  Club,  29  Washington  Square.      Erected  18 18. 


Public  Buildings 

and  the  Almshouse  on  Salem  Neck  in  1816.  These 
two  buildings,  the  only  ones  designed  by  Bulfinch  in 
Salem,  and  both  erected  after  Mclntire  died,  em- 
phasize the  loss  his  death  meant  to  the  community, 
especially  as  the  efforts  of  Bulfinch  in  Salem  do  not 
bear  favorable  comparison  with  those  of  Mclntire. 
The  fraternity  particularly  is  lacking  in  those  qualities 
of  simplicity,  sincerity  and  refinement  commonly 
attributed  to  Bulfinch's  work,  and  deservedly  in  the 
case  of  the  Massachusetts  State  House  in  Boston. 
Undoubtedly  the  best  feature  of  the  Fraternity,  the 
wrought-iron  balustrade  of  the  entrance,  is  the  equal 
of  any  similar  work  in  the  city.  For  eighty  years  this 
building  was  occupied  by  the  First  National  Bank, 
and  during  its  renovation  for  occupancy  as  the  home 
of  the  Salem  Fraternity  the  removal  of  a  false  ceiling 
in  one  of  the  lower  rooms  disclosed  a  beautiful  stucco 
centerpiece  in  the  original  ceiling  designed  by  Bul- 
finch. 

The  Salem  Fraternity,  the  oldest  boys'  club  in  the 
country,  was  organized  in  1869  to  provide  evening 
instruction  and  wholesome  amusement  for  those 
who  "being  confined  to  their  work  during  the  day 
need  recreation  at  the  end  of  their  labors."  In  addi- 
tion to  physical  training  and  general  education,  there 
are  classes  devoted  to  many  of  the  arts  and  crafts,  a 
well-filled  library  and  reading  room. 

In  Market  Square,  extending  through  from  Essex 
to  Front  Street,  stands  the  Market  House,  erected  in 

[227] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

1816,  an  Interesting  survival  of  the  early  custom  of 
combining  the  public  market  with  a  hall  for  political 
meetings,  which,  like  Faneuil  Hall  in  Boston,  contin- 
ues to  be  used  for  Its  original  purposes.  A  simple 
gable-roof  structure,  this  substantial  brick  building 
is  architecturally  notable  chiefly  for  its  fenestration, 
which  constitutes  the  only  ornamentation  aside  from 
the  pedimental  treatment  of  the  gable  with  cornice 
and  segmental  fanlight.  The  symmetrical  arrange- 
ment of  the  round-headed  windows  and  doors  at  once 
Interests  the  appreciative  eye,  and  the  sash-bar 
division  of  the  fanlights  and  second-story  Palladian 
window  accord  with  the  best  Colonial  precedents. 
The  market  on  the  lower  floor  was  opened  November 
25,  1 8 16,  and  still  continues  to  be  leased  for  meat 
and  provision  stalls,  while  on  Saturdays  produce  and 
provision  carts  line  the  square  on  Front  Street.  The 
second  floor,  furnished  as  the  Town  Hall,  was  first 
opened  to  the  public  July  8,  181 7,  on  the  occasion 
of  a  reception  tendered  to  President  Monroe  that 
evening.  Town  meetings  were  held  there  until  the 
incorporation  of  Salem  as  a  city  In  1836,  and  It  has 
since  been  used  for  public  gatherings. 

Considerable  historic  interest  attaches  to  the  site 
of  the  Market  House.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolu- 
tion it  was  the  homestead  of  Colonel  William  Browne, 
Mandamus  Councillor,  and  had  been  in  his  family  for 
more  than  a  century.  Browne  was  a  Tory,  and 
proudly  entertained  Governor  Thomas  Gage  and  his 

[228] 


Public   Buildings 

staff  when  that  autocratic  official  came  to  Salem  on 
August  4,  1774,  to  dissolve  the  town  meeting  then  in 
session.  Gage's  plan  was  frustrated,  however,  for 
Timothy  Pickering,  who  had  been  summoned  into 
their  presence  by  the  sheriff,  kept  the  Governor  in  an 
"indecent  passion"  until  the  meeting  had  transacted 
its  business  and  adjourned.  Meanwhile  an  excited 
crowd  filled  Town  House  Square,  troops  had  been 
ordered  up  from  the  garrison  on  Salem  Neck  and 
bloodshed  was  feared. 

But  during  the  next  few  years  the  Tories  lost  their 
grip  upon  government  affairs,  Browne's  estate  was 
confiscated  and  in  1784  was  conveyed  by  the  State 
to  Elias  Hasket  Derby.  The  second  edition  of  Felt's 
"Annals  of  Salem"  contains  a  picture  of  it,  repro- 
duced on  another  page,  and  Mclntire's  own  plans, 
showing  the  gradual  development  from  preliminary 
drawings,  may  be  seen  at  the  Essex  Institute.  The 
grounds  extended  to  the  water's  edge  and  were 
beautifully  laid  out  and  handsomely  terraced.  Fa- 
mous throughout  New  England,  the  Derby  gardens 
owed  their  beauty  to  the  knowledge  and  good  taste  of 
George  Heussler,  an  Alsatian,  the  first  professional 
gardener  in  this  vicinity.  To  the  influence  of  his 
accomplishments  at  the  town  residence,  and  earlier 
at  the  farm  of  Elias  Hasket  Derby,  must  be  at- 
tributed in  large  measure  the  attention  which  persons 
of  wealth  throughout  Essex  County  gave  to  their 
gardens,  and  to  him  also  must  be  given  the  credit  for 

[229] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

Introducing  many  flowers  and  valuable  fruits  to 
America. 

Derby  had  previously  occupied  the  Pickman- 
Derby-Brookhouse  estate,  then  located  at  the  corner 
of  Washington  and  Lynde  streets  where  the  new 
Masonic  Temple  now  stands.  Only  a  few  months 
dfter  moving  from  it  into  the  new  mansion,  he  died  and 
the  place  was  closed.  No  purchaser  could  be  found 
for  so  luxurious  an  establishment,  and  so  in  1804 
the  gateposts  and  much  of  the  charming  wood  finish, 
including  some  of  the  best  examples  of  Mclntire's 
genius  in  design,  were  removed  and  built  into  the  new 
residence  then  being  erected  under  Mclntire's  direc- 
tion at  Number  142  Federal  Street  for  Captain  Samuel 
Cook  and  already  referred  to  in  Chapter  IV.  Later,  in 
1 81 5,  the  Derby  mansion  was  completely  razed  and  the 
land  on  which  it  had  stood  was  conveyed  by  the  heirs 
to  the  town  for  use  as  a  permanent  public  market, 
the  area  subsequently  being  named  Derby  Square  in 
honor  of  its  former  distinguished  owner.  The  present 
Market  House  was  built  at  an  expense  of  $12,000. 

The  old  Latin  Grammar  and  English  High  School, 
the  most  interesting  of  the  early  brick  schoolhouses, 
still  remains  on  Broad  Street  and  is  now  known  as  the 
Oliver  Primary  School.  Although  the  classic  balus- 
trade that  formerly  surmounted  its  hip  roof  has  been 
removed,  the  original  doorway  has  been  bricked  up 
and  other  exterior  and  interior  changes  made  during 
the  alterations  of  1869, 1878  and  1884,  enough  remains 

[230] 


Public   Buildings 

in  its  pristine  condition  to  be  of  architectural  interest, 
while  a  lithograph  made  from  a  photograph  by  D.  A. 
Clifford  in  1856  shows  the  structure  as  it  appeared 
while  General  Henry  Kemble  Oliver  was  principal 
and  later  during  the  six  years  that  the  late  Honorable 
Joseph  H.  Choate  prepared  for  Harvard  College 
there.  Completed  in  18 19,  this  building  housed  the 
Latin  Grammar  School  until  1856  and  the  English 
High  School  from  1827  to  1858,  when  both,  with  the 
Girls'  High  School,  were  merged  into  the  Salem 
Classical  and  High  School  and  moved  to  a  new  build- 
ing beside  the  old,  the  latter  now  being  used  for 
school  administrative  purposes. 

This  old  two-story  building  is  of  interest  chiefly  for 
its  brickwork,  fenestration  and  the  wood  pilaster 
treatment  of  the  upper  story  in  the  Ionic  order  above 
a  projecting  stone  band  about  the  entire  structure 
at  the  second-floor  level.  The  windows  with  plain 
stone  lintels  and  sills  stand  in  elliptical  headed 
recessed  panels,  the  sills  reaching  entirely  across  the 
recess  from  side  to  side,  and  the  spaces  below  the 
upper  windows  being  filled  with  a  balustrade  effect 
consisting  of  wooden  pedestals  at  each  end  and  half- 
round  engaged  balusters  between.  Altogether  it  is  as 
quaint  as  any  contemporary  adaptation  of  the  classic 
in  brick  construction  to  be  found  in  New  England. 

Of  all  Salem  public  buildings  erected  a  century  or 
more  ago  none  claims  more  interest  in  architecture 
or  romance  than  the  Custom  House,  Number  178 

[231  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture   of  Salem 

Derby  Street,  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  two  principal 
wharves  during  the  period  when  Salem  was  at  the 
zenith  of  its  commercial  prosperity.  Previous  to  the 
erection  of  the  present  building  in  1818-1819  the 
Custom  House  had  been  only  a  movable  office  follow- 
ing the  collector  from  house  to  house  wherever  he 
might  happen  to  live,  and  many  were  the  famous  men 
who  held  the  offices  of  collector  and  surveyor.  William 
Fairfax  left  the  collectorship  to  go  to  Virginia,  where 
he  founded  a  family  that  intermarried  with  the 
Washingtons.  William  Hathorne,  the  ancestor  of 
the  romancer,  is  recorded  as  collecting  a  tonnage  tax 
on  gunpowder  in  1667.  Such  names  as  Browne, 
Lynde,  Bowditch,  Veren,  Palfray,  Hiller  and  Lee 
are  found  on  the  roll,  and  it  was  upon  the  petition 
of  James  Cockle,  then  collector,  for  a  warrant  to 
search  for  smuggled  molasses  that  James  Otis  made 
his  historic  plea  against  writs  of  assistance.  A  relic 
of  this  period  of  temporary  custom  houses  is  to  be 
seen  at  the  museum  of  the  Essex  Institute  in  the 
form  of  a  large  wooden  eagle,  carved  by  Samuel 
Mclntire,  that  stood  above  the  entrance  of  the 
building  at  Number  6  Central  Street  in  1805  while 
the  office  of  the  collector  was  located  there. 

But  it  is  with  Nathaniel  Hawthorne  and  General 
James  Miller,  the  hero  of  Lundy's  Lane,  that  the 
present  Custom  House  is  chiefly  associated.  General 
Miller  was  Collector  of  the  Port  from  1835  to  1849, 
and  in  1846  Hawthorne  was  appointed  Surveyor  of 

[232] 


r  ■ 


Plate     CXVI. —  Elias    Hasket    Derby    Mansion.      Erected    1799. 

Razed  1815-,   Salem  Custom  House,  178  Derby  Street. 

Erected  1 818-18 19. 


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Public  Buildings 

Customs  by  the  new  Democratic  administration,  a 
position  which  he  filled  until  the  incoming  Whig 
administration  led  to  his  dismissal  in  1849.  During 
this  time  he  occupied  the  southwesterly  front  room  on 
the  first  floor,  and  here  in  spare  moments  was  evolved 
in  part,  at  least,  the  plot  for  his  immortal  "Scarlet 
Letter."  The  stencil  with  which  inspected  goods 
were  marked  "N.  Hawthorne,  Surveyor"  may  still 
be  seen  there,  while  his  quaint  desk  is  still  preserved 
at  the  Essex  Institute.  There  was  at  one  time  a  be- 
lief among  unknown  readers  of  Hawthorne's  romance 
that  the  scarlet  letter  itself  was  discovered  in  a  room 
at  the  rear  of  the  collector's  private  office  on  the 
easterly  side  of  the  second  floor.  During  Hawthorne's 
term  of  office  and  for  several  years  afterwards  this 
was  an  unfurnished  room  containing  many  old 
papers  in  boxes  and  barrels,  yet  it  is  probable  that 
the  discovery  was  a  product  of  Hawthorne's  vivid 
imagination.  While  several  of  the  characters  and 
scenes  so  graphically  described  in  the  sketch  of  the 
Custom  House  in  the  "Introduction  to  the  Scarlet 
Letter"  were  indeed  actual  realities,  the  manuscript 
was  as  fictitious  as  Surveyor  Pue's  real  connection 
with  the  tale.  Certain  it  is  that  the  old  records  were 
dispersed  or  consumed  in  the  fire  of  October  5,  1774, 
which  destroyed  the  building  then  serving  as  the 
Custom  House,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  such  an  interest- 
ing historic  document  would  have  existed  unknown 
in  an  accumulation  of  papers  only  forty-five  years 

[233  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

old.  The  cruel  law  described  In  the  "Scariet  Letter" 
actually  existed,  however;  an  actual  copy  of  it  in 
antique  print  may  be  seen  at  the  Essex  Institute 
and  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  this  penalty  was 
inflicted  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  on  October  7, 
1754,  and  that  the  law  continued  in  force  until 
February  17,  1785.  Hawthorne  had  a  way  of  giving 
his  characters  the  names  of  real  persons  of  the  past 
and  imputing  to  them  acts  and  positions  in  life  which 
were  never  theirs.  Like  Surveyor  Pue,  Doctor 
Swinnerton  and  many  others,  most  of  his  names  are 
to  be  found  on  the  headstones  of  Charter  Street 
Burial  Ground,  St.  Peter's  churchyard  and  other 
cemeteries.  This  for  a  time  led  readers  to  regard  as 
fact  many  creations  of  his  fancy.  Tradition  says 
that  during  his  lifetime  Hawthorne  was  inclined  to 
encourage  this  tendency.  For  example,  it  is  told  that 
he  assured  an  inquiring  friend  that  he  had  the  scarlet 
letter  itself,  but  when  urged  to  show  it  explained, 
"Well,  I  did  have  it,  but  one  Sunday  when  my  wife 
had  gone  to  church,  the  children  got  hold  of  it  and 
put  it  in  the  fire." 

Returning  now  to  the  Custom  House,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  recall  that  upon  the  site  chosen  by  a  com- 
mittee of  merchants  had  formerly  stood  the  home  of 
George  Crowninshield,  one  of  Salem's  greatest  ship- 
owners and  the  father  of  Benjamin  Crowninshield, 
member  of  Congress  and  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and 
of  Jacob  Crowninshield,  also  a  congressman,  but  who 

[  234  ] 


Public  Buildings 

declined  an  offer  of  the  same  cabinet  position.  The 
facade  of  the  Crowninshield  house  was  elaborated  with 
pilasters,  and  as  a  weather  vane  on  the  cupola  sur- 
mounting the  hip  roof  stood  the  figure  of  a  man  with 
a  spyglass  held  at  arm's  length,  scanning  the  horizon 
for  returning  ships. 

The  present  brick  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$36,000,  Perley  Putnam  and  John  Saunders  being  the 
contractors.  But  for  its  high  flight  of  stone  steps, 
wide,  porch-like  Ionic  portico  and  broad  doorway 
with  a  great  semicircular  fanlight  it  greatly  resembles 
the  hip-roofed  residences  about  it  and  with  which  it 
accords  so  well.  Both  the  handsome  Palladian 
windows  of  the  second  story  and  the  balustrade  above 
the  portico  and  at  the  eaves  of  the  roof  emphasize 
this  relationship,  while  the  large  cupola  with  its 
flagstaff,  the  great  eagle  midway  of  the  front  roof 
balustrade  and  the  round-topped  windows  of  the 
lower  floor  help  to  distinguish  it  as  a  public  building. 
But  the  foreign  commerce  of  Salem  has  waned  as  that 
of  Boston  has  grown,  and  on  July  I,  1913,  the  Salem 
Custom  House,  so  important  in  the  early  annals 
of  American  shipping,  came  under  the  direction  of  a 
deputy  collector  of  the  port  of  Boston. 


[235] 


CHAPTER  XII 
SALEM  ARCHITECTURE  TO-DAY 

ON  June  25,  1914,  Salem  was  visited  by  a  terrible 
conflagration  that  cost  three  lives,  hastened 
the  death  of  many  of  the  ill  and  aged,  destroyed 
eighteen  hundred  buildings,  burned  out  fifteen  thou- 
sand persons  and  caused  a  total  loss  of  fifteen  million 
dollars,  yet  happily  claimed  no  residences  or  other 
buildings  of  exceptional  historic  interest  or  architec- 
tural merit.  Then  did  the  courageous  spirit  of  old 
Salem  reassert  itself.  Hardly  had  the  ashes  become 
cold  before  rebuilding  was  commenced  and  is  still 
in  progress.  Five  years  after  the  disaster  finds  over 
three  quarters  of  the  burned  district  restored  and 
every  indication  that  the  work  of  reconstruction  will 
be  virtually  complete  within  another  twelvemonth. 
Many  of  the  detached  dwellings  are  of  fireproof 
construction,  as  are  the  other  buildings  of  all  sorts,  and 
in  every  respect  they  are  as  a  whole  much  better  than 
the  structures  they  replace.  Slate,  asbestos  or  other 
fire-resisting  roof  coverings  are  the  rule. 

It  i&  a  remarkable  fact  that  this  great  fire  ravaged 
the  newer  part  of  the  city,  leaving  the  better  sections 
of  the  older  part  intact;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  the 

[236] 


Plate   CXVIII.  —  George  A.    Morrill   House,  2   Cedar  Street; 
House  of  Mrs.  L.  E.  Noyes,  9  Roslyn  Street. 


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Salem   Architecture    To-Day 

utmost  significance  that  most  of  the  new  buildings 
display  Colonial  motives  and  that  nearly  all  of  the 
residences  of  moment  are  purely  Colonial  in  design. 
Not  since  1818  and  the  advent  of  the  illogical  Greek 
revival  have  Colonial  houses  to  any  considerable 
number  and  worthy  of  the  name  been  erected  in 
Salem,  and  the  present  general  reversion  to  them 
after  an  interval  of  a  century  indicates  conclusively 
the  power  of  persistence  of  the  Colonial  tradition. 
The  aberrations  of  intervening  years  have  been 
corrected  by  elimination ;  the  gap  has  been  bridged, 
and  architectural  design  again  springs  from  the  sound 
fundamentals  of  the  past;  home  builders  are  col- 
laborating with  architects  in  the  logical  development 
of  local  prototypes  so  worthy  of  emulation.  The 
continuity  of  the  Colonial  tradition  has  been  re- 
established and  it  becomes  evident  as  never  before 
that  the  American  style  in  architecture  is,  always 
has  been  and  probably  will  continue  to  be  Colonial. 
In  a  city  where  all  the  best  architecture  is  Colonial 
and  much  of  it  more  than  century-old,  mature 
thought  always  convinces  the  discerning  home  builder 
that  safety  lies  within  the  bounds  of  local  traditions 
if  one  would  have  his  new  house  live  in  accord  with 
its  older  fellows.  In  the  hands  of  a  resourceful 
architect  such  a  conservative  course  should  insure 
a  home  of  character  and  distinction,  for  in  the 
adaptation  of  several  motives  of  proved  worth  to 
individual  needs  and  modern  uses  will  come  a  new 

[237] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

and  varied  ensemble  sufficiently  related  to  the  past 
yet  by  no  means  conventional.  And  so  it  has  been 
proved  in  this  instance.  In  former  years  Salem 
architecture  has  been  unique  and  especially  valuable 
because  of  its  several  varied  types  and  the  opportunity 
afforded  for  ready  comparison.  Henceforth  it  will 
possess  a  wider  interest  by  reason  of  its  large  and 
growing  number  of  notable  modern  Colonial  homes. 
As  a  source  of  building  inspiration  the  Salem  of  to-day, 
consisting  of  an  old  and  new  city  in  juxtaposition, 
far  outshines  its  former  self  as  the  architectural 
center  of  New  England.  Exigencies  of  space  restrict 
the  treatment  of  this  modern  Colonial  architecture 
in  these  pages,  but  the  few  varied  and  especially 
noteworthy  examples  illustrated  and  described  serve 
to  show  the  ingenious  manner  in  which  architects 
find  their  inspiration  bit  by  bit  here  and  there, 
adapt  it  to  their  needs  and  often  recombine  it  to  serve 
new  purposes. 

In  their  search  for  a  cottage  prototype  in  Salem, 
architects  of  necessity  went  back  to  the  days  of  the 
"codfish  aristocrats"  and  selected  the  lean-to;  for 
the  gambrel-roof  houses  of  Salem,  unlike  those  of 
New  York  and  New  Jersey,  are  virtually  three 
stories  in  height  and  furnish  no  precedents  of  distinc- 
tive yet  modest  character  for  direct  adaptation. 
This  type,  although  picturesque  in  mass  and  outline, 
is  severe  and  almost  colorless  in  facade  and  devoid  of 
embellishment,  but  A.  G.  Richardson,  the  Boston 

[238] 


Salem   Architecture    To-Day 

architect  residing  in  Salem,  saw  the  possibilities  it 
offered  for  elaboration  and  in  designing  the  home  of 
George  A.  Morrill,  Number  2  Cedar  Street,  solved 
one  of  the  most  interesting  problems  of  his  career. 

The  resulting  house  as  it  stands  complete  to-day 
represents  virtually  an  exact  copy  of  the  Maria 
Goodhue  house  in  Danvers,  erected  in  1690  and 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1899.  Its  long  roof-line,  formed 
by  the  lean-to  continuation  at  the  same  pitch, 
contributes  a  uniquely  appropriate  character  to  the 
modern  architecture  of  Salem  and  was  found  to 
provide  a  very  practical  way  of  bringing  a  piazza  in 
the  rear  and  all  service  appurtenances  under  one  roof, 
thereby  saving  expense  and  avoiding  all  leakage 
complications  common  to  roofs  considerably  broken 
by  gables  or  dormers. 

The  exterior  embellishments  savor  of  the  practical 
for  the  most  part  and  are  better  for  it,  including  the 
doorway,  blinds,  lintels,  fanlights  in  each  gable, 
a  cornice  along  the  front  under  the  eaves  and  a 
glazed  piazza  at  the  rear.  No  one  who  has  seen  the 
pedimental  doorway  of  the  Hodges-Webb-Meek 
house.  Number  81  Essex  Street,  erected  about  1800, 
will  doubt  the  origin  of  that  on  the  Morrill  cottage. 
One  notices  the  absence  of  side  lights,  so  often  a  Salem 
feature,  yet  this  simpler  design  accords  well  with  the 
modest  nature  of  the  entire  structure.  In  the  transla- 
tion, too,  the  fluted  pilasters  with  their  pleasing 
Ionic  capitals  have  become  round  columns,  always 

[239] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

lighter  in  effect  and  more  graceful.  Square  fluted 
columns  without  capitals,  however,  have  been  applied 
effectively  to  the  glazed  piazza  at  the  rear. 

Attractively  spaced  with  molded  panels,  after  the 
manner  of  several  century-old  examples  near  by, 
the  door  itself  differs  from  them  in  the  substitution 
of  glass  bull's-eyes  for  the  two  smaller  upper  panels. 
The  double  blind  doors  before  it,  with  wire  screen 
cloth  on  the  inner  side,  so  often  seen  on  old  Colonial 
houses,  also  vary  slightly  from  the  conventional 
type,  as  do  likewise  the  window  blinds  in  the  omis- 
sion of  a  middle  cross  rail.  The  idea  may  have  been 
taken  from  an  old  Newburyport  house  or  the  William 
R.  Colby  house.  Number  93  Federal  Street,  Salem. 
The  hardware  indicates  careful  selection  and  includes 
a  charming  brass  knocker  and  thumb  latch  with  a 
glass  knob  on  the  blind  door  outside.  In  the  arch 
above  hangs  an  old  ship's  lamp  wired  for  electricity, 
a  clever  and  useful  reminder  of  the  early  days  of 
Salem  prosperity.  One  notices,  too,  the  quaint, 
wrought-iron  S  blind  fasteners ;  in  fact,  only  an 
electric  push-button  betrays  modernity.  A  character- 
istic fence  with  round,  pointed  pickets  and  simple  rail 
and  base  between  four  stone  posts  completes  a  picture 
of  genuine  charm,  even  though  one  longs  for  steps 
of  granite  and  gateposts  of  wood  like  those  at  the 
side  or  slightly  heavier. 

The  well-proportioned  windows  contain  twelve- 
paned  sashes  like  most  of  those  in  Salem,  lending 

[240] 


Plate  CXX.  —  House  of  Henry  M.  Bachelder,  204  Lafayette  Street ; 
Semi-detached  Houses,  built  by  S.  W.  Phillips,  Warren  Street. 


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Salem  Architecture    To-Day 

scale  and  picturesqueness  to  the  facade.  Their 
molded  architrave  casings  follow  conventional  lines, 
but  the  lintels  with  their  attractive  comer  blocks, 
although  of  wood,  recall  the  hand-cut  marble  lintels 
so  often  seen  on  brick  houses.  And  the  way  in  which 
the  second-story  lintels  engage  the  plate,  which  has 
gained  the  dignity  of  a  cornice  through  its  vertical 
fluted  groups  and  surmounting  bed  molding,  is 
strongly  reminiscent  of  our  earliest  New  England 
houses. 

Another  example  of  lean-to  design  is  seen  in  the 
house  of  Mrs.  L.  E.  Noyes,  Number  9  Roslyn  Street. 
In  general  mass  reminiscent  of  Salem  architecture 
of  witchcraft  days,  the  house  as  a  whole  is  of  compos- 
ite rather  than  pure  type.  Motives  characteristic  of 
other  localities,  such  as  the  Germantown  penthouse 
hood,  the  Dutch  porch,  wide  side  settles  and  the 
Maryland  farmhouse  outside  chimneys,  have  been 
freely  employed,  while  the  stucco  construction, 
divisions  of  the  window  sashes,  the  long  lean-to 
dormer  and  the  glazed  piazza  in  the  rear  are  dis- 
tinctly modern  innovations.  The  ensemble  is  none 
the  less  picturesque  and  pleasing,  and  a  credit  to  the 
architect  and  builder,  A.  J.  MacDuff,  of  Everett, 
Massachusetts. 

The  end-to-the-street  residence  of  T.  Irving  Fenno, 
Number  3  Cedar  Street,  also  a  stucco  house,  reflects 
Salem  influences  in  its  doorway  and  fenestration.  The 
former,   while   considerably   elaborated,   recalls   the 

[241  ] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

White-Lord  doorway,  Number  3 1  Washington  Square 
North.  Sufficient  projection  has  been  given  to  the 
open  pediment  to  form  a  porch  to  shelter  the  waiting 
guest,  and  this  is  supported,  not  by  engaged  smooth 
columns,  but  by  fluted  columns  and  flat  pilasters. 
One  notices  the  omission  of  the  blind  doors,  the 
substitution  of  a  charming  elliptical  instead  of  round 
fanlight  and  the  clever  application  of  the  fine-scale 
Doric  triglyph  and  guttae  to  the  frieze  ends.  The 
simple,  attractive  Palladian  window  above  this  dis- 
tinctive entrance  accords  with  Salem  practice,  though 
adapted  from  other  sources,  while  the  broad  thirty- 
paned  windows,  fifteen  panes  to  the  sash,  were 
doubtless  suggested  to  the  architect,  Louis  Grangent, 
of  Salem,  by  the  "House  of  Seven  Gables"  and  the 
sketch  of  the  Philip  English  house  at  the  Essex 
Institute. 

The  gambrel-roof  period  of  Salem  architecture  has 
a  worthy  modern  representative  in  the  residence  of 
Henry  M.  Bachelder,  Number  204  Lafayette  Street, 
Little  and  Brown,  Boston,  architects.  It  is  notable 
chiefly  for  its  pleasing  mass  and  simplicity  of  detail. 
Substantial  comfort  and  permanent  construction  were 
the  aims  rather  than  elaboration  of  motives.  Dormers, 
cornice  and  windows  correspond  to  those  of  several 
old  houses  near  by,  and  the  iron  hand  rails  have  the 
true  Colonial  feeling.  The  L,  with  its  sun  parlor  on 
the  lower  floor,  strikes  a  modem  and  unusual  note,  as 
do  the  three  narrow  windows  on  the  third  floor  of  the 

[242] 


Salem   Architecture    To-Day 

gable,  and  the  inclosed  entrance  porch.  The  latter 
is  exceptional  in  its  engaged  columns  and  flat-roofed 
wings,  with  high  narrow  sashes  each  side  of  the 
pediment.  The  door  differs  a  trifle  from  several 
similar  ones  in  Salem  in  the  shorter  proportion  of  the 
lower  panels.  The  delightful  interior  woodwork 
includes  two  genuine  Mclntire  fireplace  mantels  taken 
from  the  old  building  at  Number  6  Central  Street 
where  the  Custom  House  was  located  in  1805,  and 
which  was  considerably  remodeled  a  few  years  ago. 
;  It  is  a  hopeful  sign  of  the  times  that  the  desire  for 
real  architectural  merit  in  the  home  is  now  being 
expressed  quite  as  insistently  by  prospective  home 
builders  of  moderate  means,  and  even  tenants,  as  by 
those  better  situated  financially.  In  meeting  this 
demand  landlords  and  architects  have  learned  that 
the  matter  of  small  houses  harmoniously  treated  on 
small  plots  constitutes  a  problem  of  the  first  magni- 
tude, and  the  more  they  study  it  the  more  they  come 
to  appreciate  the  merits  of  the  English  semi-detached 
house  with  party  walls  on  the  side  property  lines, 
whether  for  rentable  purposes  or  for  the  owner  who 
feels  the  need  of  an  income  from  part  of  his  home 
property. 

Not  only  is  there  economy  in  making  one  structural 
wall  answer  for  two  houses,  but  the  very  utmost  is 
made  of  small  building  plots ;  appearances  are 
improved  immeasurably  both  in  respect  to  the  house 
itself  and  the  grounds.  No  suburban  property  can  be 

[243  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

developed  attractively  with  small  detached  houses 
on  plots  less  than  one  hundred  feet  wide.  On  single 
forty-foot  lots  ugly,  narrow  houses  resembling  flats 
in  floor  plan  must  be  adopted  in  order  to  leave  the 
necessary  space  between  them.  Even  two  lots,  total- 
ing eighty  feet  in  width,  hardly  permit  anything 
better  than  a  cubical  eight-room  house,  with  four 
rooms  of  nearly  equal  size  on  each  floor,  that  seems 
clumsy  in  the  extreme  when  of  fireproof  construction 
such  as  brick  or  concrete.  To  put  as  many  rooms 
on  the  first  as  the  second  floor,  or  to  build  a  one- 
story  bungalow  is  expensive  in  respect  to  increased 
excavation,  foundation  and  roof. 

Conditions  of  this  character  presented  themselves 
in  replacing  the  famous  Tontine  Block,  a  group  of 
splendid  old  dwellings  erected  in  1806,  which  stood 
at  the  comer  of  Warren  and  Flint  streets  in  the  path 
of  the  great  fire.  With  commendable  public  spirit  the 
owner,  S.  W.  Phillips,  undertook  with  the  aid  of 
William  G.  Rantoul,  the  Boston  architect  living  in 
Salem,  to  restore  the  property  with  a  group  of  modern 
dwellings  in  accord  with  its  century-old  neighbors,  still 
intact.  The  task  was  to  devise  a  plan  which,  within 
restricted  limits,  should  provide  every  convenience 
and  comfort  required  by  the  tenant  of  to-day,  with 
the  rooms  so  arranged  as  to  insure  plenty  of  sunlight 
and  air,  and  thus  overcome  the  usual  objections  to 
houses  built  in  a  block. 

By  joining  three  houses  together  under  one  roof, 

[244] 


Plate  CXXII.  — Residence  of  Francis  A.  Seamans,  48  Chestnut 

Street.      Erected  19 10;   Residence  of  B.  Parker  Babbidge, 

14  Fairfield  Street. 


03 


O 

o 


<: 

V 
V 

If 
S 


3 
ON 


o 
o 


3 


c 


X 

X 

u 


Salem   Architecture    To-Day 

yet  separating  them  one  from  another  by  unpierced 
brick  fire  walls,  Mr.  Rantoul  found  it  possible  to 
design  a  dignified  three-story  structure,  broad  of  roof, 
generally  horizontal  in  effect,  friendly  with  its  site  and 
harmonious  in  every  proportion.  It  is  at  utter 
variance  with  any  eight-room  house  on  a  single  lot 
and  is  vastly  superior ;  it  has,  in  other  words,  benefited 
by  association  with  its  neighbors.  This  applies  not 
only  to  the  appearance  of  the  house  itself  but  to  its 
surroundings  as  well.  There  is  a  generous  lawn 
stretching  entirely  across  the  front,  opportunities  for 
planting  about  the  entrance  at  the  ends,  and  three 
large  service-yards  in  the  rear  instead  of  four  pain- 
fully narrow  spaces  between  three  single  houses  and 
their  neighbors.  Brick  walls  at  both  ends  and  a  solid 
wood  fence  at  the  rear  insure  to  the  entire  grounds, 
except  the  front  lawns,  that  privacy  so  desirable  yet 
so  often  lacking  in  houses  of  this  sort. 

In  the  solution  of  his  many  complex  problems  Mr. 
Rantoul  has  achieved  a  notable  success  in  creative 
adaptation,  if  such  a  term  may  be  permitted.  Not 
only  has  he  preserved  the  spirit  and  general  arrange- 
ment of  the  English  sejni-detached  house,  but  in 
appearance  he  has  given  it  a  distinctly  American 
character,  its  charm  and  beauty  depending  upon 
simple  lines,  pleasing  proportions  and  the  entire 
absence  of  useless  ornament.  Choosing  as  his  princi- 
pal motive  the  gambrel-roof  house,  all  minor  details 
were  made  to  harmonize,  and  one  who  knows  Salem 

[  24s  1 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

architecture  will  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  friendly 
prototypes  for  each  with  one  exception.  Broad,  mul- 
lioned  window-groups,  such  as  those  of  the  middle 
house,  are  much  employed  in  England  where  the 
light  is  much  of  the  time  less  intense  than  here.  In 
the  present  instance  they  have  only  one  outside  wall. 
Perhaps  the  most  notable  example  of  the  modern 
gambrel-roof  house  of  brick  is  the  residence  of 
Francis  A.  Seaman,  Number  48  Chestnut  Street, 
although  not  in  the  fire  district  and  built  shortly 
before  the  conflagration  occurred.  Its  location  on  one 
of  the  finest  streets  of  Colonial  architecture  in 
America,  however,  precluded  the  possibility  of  re- 
sorting to  any  other  style.  The  house  is  a  free 
adaptation  of  the  Richard  Derby  house,  on  Derby 
Street,  the  oldest  brick  house  still  standing  in  Salem, 
and  careful  observation  will  disclose  at  once  many 
details  which  correspond  and  several  which  differ. 
The  paired  chimneys  at  both  ends  of  the  older  house 
have  been  omitted  in  the  design  of  the  new  in  accord- 
ance with  the  exigencies  of  the  floor  plan,  and  the 
newer  doorway,  while  equivalent  to  the  older  in  mass, 
varies  considerably  in  detaiL  The  recess  of  a  sunken 
vestibule  together  with  the  projection  of  the  Doric 
pediment  supported  by  full,  round,  engaged  columns 
constitutes  an  entrance  porch.  As  a  whole  the  effect 
more  closely  resembles  that  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  entrance,  on  Federal  Street,  rather  than  the 
Derby  doorway,  although  it  has  less  projection,  and 

[246] 


Salem  Architecture    To-Day 

low  Roman  rather  than  high  Tuscan  plinths  have 
been  used.  The  jambs  of  the  older  house,  suggestive 
of  cut  marble  blocks,  have  been  retained  and  the  door 
is  similarly  paneled,  except  that  bull's-eye  glasses 
replace  the  upper  panels  as  a  substitute  for  the 
horizontal  top  light.  The  simple  wood  fence  reflects 
good  Colonial  spirit  and  altogether  the  house  is  a 
worthy  companion  of  its  older  neighbor. 

The  Lancelot  Gibson  house,  Number  6  Fairfield 
Street,  although  only  two  stories  in  height,  otherwise 
well  represents  the  square  wood  dwellings  in  vogue 
from  about  1780  to  1810  with  their  hip  roofs  and 
surmounting  belvederes.  Like  several  early  proto- 
types the  facade  is  weatherboarded  and  has  quoined 
comers,  the  other  walls  being  clapboarded.  Again 
the  effect  of  an  entrance  porch  has  been  obtained  by 
recourse  to  a  sunken  vestibule  with  Doric  pediment 
supported,  in  this  instance,  by  columns  of  pure 
Grecian  order.  In  the  spacing  of  its  panels  the  door 
brings  to  mind  that  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  the  moldings,  however,  having  apparently 
been  adapted  from  those  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee 
door.  One  notices  the  pleasing  effect  of  the  paneled 
jambs  spaced  to  correspond  to  the  door.  The  doorway 
at  Number  6  Downing  Street  probably  suggested  the 
narrow  side  lights.  Shutters  such  as  grace  old 
Colonial  houses  elsewhere  replace  the  customary 
Salem  blinds,  but  the  overhanging  bay  and  the 
piazza  having  columns  in  accord  with  the  entrance 

[247] 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

and  a  unique  balustrade  Instance  the  resourcefulness 
of  the  architect,  A.  G.  Richardson,  of  Salem. 

The  square  brick  houses  of  the  last  period  of 
Colonial  architecture  in  Salem  have  also  furnished 
inspiration  for  recent  two-story  residences  quite  as 
attractive  as  their  larger  three-story  predecessors, 
even  if  lacking  a  little  of  the  grandeur  lent  by  greater 
height.  Among  the  handsomest  of  these  may  be 
mentioned  the  residence  of  B.  Parker  Babbidge, 
Number  14  Fairfield  Street,  an  exceptional  instance 
of  intelligent  Colonial  adaptation.  The  ornamental 
detail  in  profusion  indicates  an  appreciation  of 
Salem's  best  motives.  Beneath  a  hip  roof  surmounted 
by  a  balustraded  belvedere,  and  pierced  by  dormers 
familiar  to  Salem,  is  seen  a  cornice  with  dentils  hand- 
carved  on  their  under  sides  and  a  ball  molding 
distinctly  reminiscent  of  the  Peabody-Silsbee  house. 
Both  above  and  below,  the  balustrades  appear  to 
have  emanated  from  the  same  source,  the  molded 
panels  in  the  balustrade  of  the  large  glazed  piazza, 
however,  representing  a  pleasing  innovation.  The 
recessed  doorway  was  obviously  developed  from  that 
of  the  Ropes'  Memorial  by  omitting  the  top  lights, 
employing  a  finer  scale  pattern  for  the  leaded  glass 
of  the  side  lights  and  refining  the  moldings  of  the 
similarly  paneled  door  somewhat  to  correspond.  In 
fenestration  the  Dodge-Shreve  house.  Number  29 
Chestnut  Street,  was  taken  as  the  model.  The 
windows,   window   frames   and   marble   lintels    cor- 

[248] 


Salem  Architecture    To-Day 

respond  in  pattern,  and  the  beautiful  Palladian  win- 
dow over  the  entrance  displays  only  such  minor 
variations  as  the  flattening  of  the  brick  arch  to  el- 
liptical form,  the  substitution  of  simpler  spring  blocks 
and  keystone,  and  the  use  of  leaded  side  lights  like 
those  of  the  doorway  below.  Blind  shutters  from 
other  than  local  sources  serve  to  fix  this  typically 
Salem  dwelling  as  being  of  the  twentieth  century. 
Altogether  no  finer  modern  structure  yet  graces  the 
rebuilt  section  of  the  city. 

Across  the  street,  the  residence  of  George  L. 
Hooper,  Number  1 1  Fairfield  Street,  instances  several 
well-designed  and  distinctly  modern  houses  which, 
aside  from  minor  details  here  and  there,  adhere  to 
Salem  precedent  exteriorly  only  in  the  doorway. 
Here  the  architect,  Robert  Coit,  of  Boston,  appears  to 
have  been  influenced  by  the  Barstow-West  entrance 
porch,  elaborating  it  by  the  addition  of  a  surmounting 
balustrade  about  the  second-floor  bay  above  and 
broadening  it  from  elliptical  to  nearly  semicircular 
shape.  The  marble-capped  brick  buttresses  of  the 
steps,  conforming  to  the  floor  of  the  porch,  have  been 
deemed  suflicient  without  the  charming  iron  work 
of  the  older  entrance,  while  the  door  itself,  generally 
speaking,  conforms  to  the  panel  arrangement  of  the 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  door,  the  panels  imme- 
diately above  the  thumb  latch  being  of  longer  relative 
proportion  in  the  later  door. 

Several  picturesque  new  doorways  in  the  rebuilt 

[249I 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

section,  especially  entrance  porches,  cannot  in  any 
sense  be  regarded  as  Colonial,  yet  they  exhibit 
unmistakable  evidence  of  classic  influence  in  their 
design  and  so  live  in  accord  with  the  pure  archi- 
tectural types  about  them.  They  are  manifestations 
of  the  application  of  simple  motives  and  minor  bits 
of  Colonial  detail  to  the  modest  cottage  architecture 
intended  to  appeal  to  the  eye  rather  than  the  mind 
and  to  provide  essential  comforts  and  fulfill  personal 
requirements  rather  than  invite  architectural  classi- 
fication. The  doorway  of  the  Ceorge  W.  Fuller 
house.  Number  69  Summer  Street,  George  H. 
Fanning,  of  Salem,  architect,  and  the  Alan  Bouve 
doorway.  Number  7  Fairfield  Street,  merit  study 
as  denoting  commendable  tendencies  of  the  present 
time. 

Not  only  has  the  Colonial  tradition  established 
itself  as  the  twentieth-century  style  in  domestic 
architecture,  but  it  has  reasserted  itself  in  public  and 
semi-public  work  as  well.  To  use  a  colloquialism,  the 
Colonial  style  has  in  every  sense  "come  back." 
And  as  indicated  by  the  Francis  A.  Seaman  house, 
already  referred  to,  and  the  instances  which  follow, 
the  beginnings  of  the  coming  reversion  had  already 
been  made  before  the  great  fire  occurred.  This 
disaster  did  not,  therefore,  cause  the  reversion,  but 
hastened  it  and  made  it  more  general. 

As  early  as  1882  the  desirability  of  perpetuating 
the  Colonial  spirit  in  public  buildings  was  felt  when 

[250] 


Plate  CXXIV.  —  Lancelot  Gibson  House,  6  Fairfield  Street ;  House 
of  George  L.  Hooper,  1 1  Fairfield  Street. 


Salem  Architecture    To-Day 

the  block  at  Number  Ii8  Washington  Street  was 
designed  by  Peabody  and  Stearns,  of  Boston,  to  house 
the  Post  Office  on  its  lower  floor.  Generally  Ionic  in  its 
ornamental  detail,  with  capitals  elaborated  by  an 
encarpus  between  the  volutes,  this  brick  structure 
represents  a  free  interpretation  of  the  order,  yet  is 
strongly  reminiscent  of  much  fine  old  work  in  Salem. 
The  heavy  balustrades,  paneled  pedestals  and  sur- 
mounting urns,  also  the  entablature  beneath  are 
perhaps  the  best  features,  although  the  two  door- 
ways are  also  interesting. 

It  has  been  contended  by  some  competent  critics 
that  an  improvement  would  have  been  effected  by  the 
omission  of  the  highly  ornamented  doorheads  over 
both  front  entrances,  consisting  of  a  sort  of  broken 
pediment  formed  by  two  scrolls  or  curves  of  contrary 
flexure  such  as  characterize  the  decorative  contour  of 
the  classic  console.  However  that  may  be,  these  high 
heads  provide  spaces  for  fine  reproductions  of  the 
coat  of  arms  of  the  United  States  and  the  seal  of  the 
City  of  Salem.  The  manner  in  which  these  pedi- 
mental  heads  tie  into  the  entablature  above  is  worthy 
of  notice,  although  this  practice  does  not  find  favor 
with  many  architects.  The  fenestration  throughout 
is  pleasing.  The  large  lights  of  the  lower  sashes  afford 
comfort  in  looking  outdoors  from  within,  while  the 
many  small  square  lights  above  lend  a  pleasing  sense 
of  scale.  The  windows  of  the  lower  story  between  the 
doorways  represent  a  modernized  adaptation  of  the 

[2511 


The  Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

English  bay,  frequently  a  feature  of  the  quaint  shops 
of  early  days  in  America. 

Next  to  the  Post  Office  on  Washington  Street 
stands  the  Peabody  Building,  another  brick  structure 
in  the  Colonial  spirit.  It  was  designed  by  C.  H. 
Blackall,  of  Boston,  and  erected  in  1891  and  1892. 
Here,  too,  there  is  considerable  freedom  in  the  use  of 
the  orders,  yet  the  ensemble  possesses  that  in- 
definable grace  and  charm  which  Mclntire  often 
imparted  by  similar  methods,  and  indeed,  several 
prominent  motives,  such  as  the  ball  molding,  will  be 
recognized  as  having  been  employed  by  that  master 
craftsman  of  Salem.  While  it  might  be  said  that 
generally  speaking  the  building  is  denticulated  Doric 
in  character,  as  indicated  by  the  main  entrance, 
yet  the  continuations  of  the  entablature  along  the 
second-floor  level  are  Doric  only  in  the  guttae  of  the 
architrave,  the  triglyphs  of  the  frieze  being  omitted 
and  the  dentil  course  of  the  cornice  being  replaced  by 
a  cavetto  jig-sawed  to  suggest  a  series  of  Gothic 
arches,  the  torus  ordinarily  used  beneath  it  becoming 
in  this  instance  a  half  sphere.  The  main  cornice  of  the 
building  is  Corinthian  with  typical  modillions,  while 
the  slender  columns  of  the  comer  doorway  and 
Palladian  window  above  the  main  entrance  have  Ionic 
capitals  and  the  urns  in  pairs  on  the  roof  balustrade 
suggest  Adam  influence.  Both  the  marble  lintels  of 
the  windows  as  a  whole  were  obviously  inspired  by 
the  facade  of  the  Dodge-Shreve  house,  Number  29 

[252] 


Salem  Architecture    To-Day 

Chestnut  Street,  while  the  fenestration  throughout 
echoes  pleasingly  that  of  the  Post  Office  beside  it. 
Both  the  ornamental  iron  balcony  and  the  semi- 
circular leaded  glass  fanlight  beneath  are  quite  in 
accord  with  approved  Salem  motives,  while  a  partic- 
ularly effective  feature  of  the  main  entrance  is 
provided  by  the  broad  and  heavy  paneling  in  the 
reveal  of  the  doorway  which  is  carried  up  around  the 
soffit  of  the  arch.  This  building  is  the  home  of  the 
Salem  Evening  News  and  the  corner  doorway  to  its 
office  forms  an  interesting  study  in  the  effective 
adaptation  of  Colonial  motives  to  modern  commercial 
usage. 

In  1906  the  present  building  of  the  Salem  Athe- 
naeum at  Number  339  Essex  Street,  known  as 
Plummer  Hall,  was  erected  to  replace  the  first 
Plummer  Hall  of  1856,  which  the  society  had  found 
unsuited  to  its  needs  and  had  sold  to  the  Essex 
Institute  for  a  museum.  Plummer  Hall  had  been 
built  from  a  bequest  of  ^30,000  in  the  name  of  her 
brother,  Ernestus  Augustus  Plummer,  by  Miss 
Caroline  Plummer,  who  also  established  the  Plummer 
Farm  School  and  the  Plummer  Professorship  of 
Morals  at  Harvard  University,  One  of  the  handsom- 
est buildings  in  the  city,  in  exterior  appearance  it  is 
approximately  a  reproduction  of  the  central  part  of 
"Homewood",  that  remarkable  Baltimore  residence, 
sometimes  referred  to  as  a  Colonial  bungalow,  erected 
in   1 803-1 804  by  Charles   Carroll  of  Carrollton,   a 

[253  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  "Home- 
wood  "  is  now  a  part  of  Johns  Hopkins  University  and 
offers  a  peculiarly  suitable  prototype  for  modern 
adaptation  to  public  uses,  either  including  the 
Georgian  wings  or  omitting  them  as  in  the  present 
Plummer  Hall,  designed  by  William  G.  Rantoul. 

The  Salem  Athenaeum  is  controlled  by  one  hundred 
shareholders  or  proprietors,  but  a  limited  number  of 
additional  persons  may  avail  themselves  of  its 
privileges  by  annual  subscription.  The  library 
contains  30,000  volumes,  including  the  old  "Social 
Library"  of  1780,  and  the  "Philosophical  Library" 
of  1 78 1,  founded  on  a  collection  of  scientific  works 
seized  in  the  Irish  Channel  by  Captain  Hill,  the 
privateersman. 

The  Police  Station,  Number  17  Central  Street, 
erected  in  191 3,  is  situated  among  buildings  of 
bygone  days.  While  meeting  the  varied  practical 
requirements  of  such  a  structure,  the  architect,  John 
M.  Gray,  of  Salem  and  Boston,  has  succeeded  in 
imparting  to  it  much  of  the  spirit  of  old  Salem  brick- 
work. This  important  addition  to  Salem's  municipal 
buildings  is  an  excellent  example  of  what  can  be 
accomplished  by  adhering  to  the  spirit  of  our  early 
architecture.  The  structure  is  of  red  brick  with 
limestone  trimmings  and  from  the  balustrade  of  the 
decked  roof  down  to  the  ironwork  of  the  doorways 
indicates  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  best  Salem 
precedents.     At  once  distinctive  and  dignified,  the 

[254] 


Plate   CXXVI. — Salem  Masonic  Temple,  Washington  and  Lynde 
Streets.     Erected  1915-1916. 


Pi.ATK     CXXVII.  —  The     Salem     Athenaeum,    339     Essex     Streets 

Erected  1906;  Salem  Police  Station,  17  Central  Street. 

Erected  19 13. 


Salem   Architecture    To-Day 

facade  is  particularly  happy  in  its  fenestration.  The 
ornamental  fire  balcony  and  panels  with  festooned 
drapery  beneath  the  high  round-headed  windows  are 
highly  decorative,  and  the  urns  on  the  pedestals 
above  the  hooded  entrances  are  pleasingly  reminis- 
cent of  several  delightful  wooden  gateposts.  This  is 
really  three  buildings  in  one  as  it  houses  the  Police 
Department,  Electrical  Department  and  the  First 
District  Court  of  Essex  County.  Each  department 
is  entirely  separate  from  the  others  and  has  its 
own  entrances.  The  lower  floor  and  basement  are 
devoted  to  the  Police  Department.  The  Electrical 
Department  is  located  in  an  L  on  the  Charter  Street 
side  of  the  building,  while  the  First  District  Court, 
the  Civil  and  Juvenile  Courts  and  their  accompanying 
chambers  occupy  the  second  and  third  stories.  The 
principal  court  room  is  on  the  front,  where  the  high 
round-headed  windows  are  seen,  and  is  the  equiva- 
lent of  two  stories  in  height,  with  the  third  story  of  the 
mezzanine  type  around  it.  Distinctly  Colonial  in 
character,  the  room  is  beautifully  finished  in  mahog- 
any with  pure  white  vaulted  ceilings  and  walls 
tinted  a  soft  gray. 

Of  all  the  recent  buildings  in  Salem,  however,  the 
Masonic  Temple  at  the  comer  of  Washington  and 
Lynde  streets,  formerly  the  site  of  the  Pickman- 
Derby-Brookhouse  estate  alluded  to  in  Chapter 
IV,  is  the  largest  and  most  pretentious.  Constructed 
of  brick  with  limestone  trimmings,  it  was  erected  in 

[  255  ] 


The   Colonial  Architecture  of  Salem 

191 5  and  1916  at  a  cost  of  ^250,000,  Lester  S.  Couch, 
of  the  firm  of  Little  and  Brown,  Boston,  being  the 
architect.  While  classic  Renaissance  rather  than 
Colonial,  no  book  devoted  to  the  best  Salem  archi- 
tecture would  be  complete  which  failed  to  include  it. 
Moreover,  it  recalls  old  Salem  work  in  several 
particulars ;  notably  the  adoption  of  the  Corinthian 
order,  which  predominated  in  the  local  brick  struc- 
tures of  a  century  ago,  the  application  of  the  Grecian 
fret  or  double  denticulated  molding  to  the  cornice, 
and  the  design  of  the  ornamental  iron  fire  balconies. 
Generally  speaking,  the  facade  is  reminiscent  of 
the  Roman  palaces  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries  as  well  as  of  the  earlier  Florentine  palaces 
by  reason  of  the  first  story  of  rusticated  stone  with 
three  grouped  arches  at  the  main  entrance  and  a 
surmounting  continuous  scroll  band,  and  also  because 
of  the  brick  walling  above,  devoid  of  numerous 
pilasters  and  columns  so  common  to  the  Renaissance 
architecture  of  Northern  Italy.  The  projecting 
pediment  supported  by  Corinthian  columns  three 
stories  in  height  above  the  entrance,  however,  was 
a  more  frequent  feature  of  the  Renaissance  in  Eng- 
land. The  fenestration  is  most  interesting,  the  oval 
windows  of  the  fourth  story  and  the  nearly  square 
ones  under  the  pediment  recalling  the  round  and 
square  windows  of  Hampton  Court,  although  dif- 
ferently employed  in  this  instance.  Adam  influence 
is  seen  in  the  decorative  stone  panels  between  these 

[256] 


Salem  Architecture    To-Day 

oval  windows  and  in  the  garlands  over  them.  Under 
the  pediment  the  stone  casings  of  the  windows,  both 
those  with  entablatures  and  segmental  heads,  are  of 
Italian  character.  Elsewhere  simple  gauged  arches 
with  limestone  keystones  suffice,  the  only  wooden 
construction  in  any  instance  being  the  jamb  linings 
let  into  the  reveals  of  the  brickwork.  Casement 
sashes  prevail  on  the  fourth  floor,  with  sliding 
Georgian  sashes  on  the  second  and  third  floors.  Above 
the  heavy  cornice  rises  a  balustrade,  but  unlike  the 
usual  classic  type,  it  consists  of  a  solid  brick  wall  and 
coping,  with  occasional  projecting  piers  replacing 
the  customary  pedestals. 

Altogether  it  is  a  stately  building  of  considerable 
distinction  and  one  of  the  finest  Masonic  edifices  in 
Massachusetts.  Exteriorly  it  lives  in  accord  with  its 
older  Colonial  neighbors,  and  interiorly  its  lodge 
rooms  are  graced  with  excellent  wood  finish  of  appro- 
priate character.  Like  the  Police  Station,  it  offers  a 
type  worthy  of  emulation  in  future  years. 

May  the  complete  success  of  these  and  a  few  other 
less  important  recent  efforts  encourage  the  continued 
use  of  Colonial  motives  in  municipal  and  semi-public 
work,  so  that  the  community  as  well  as  its  citizens 
individually  may  assist  in  perpetuating  and  develop- 
ing a  building  heritage  second  to  none  in  America, 
and  that  henceforth,  as  up  to  1818,  Salem  may  have  a 
contemporaneous  Colonial  architecture  in  public  as 
well  as  domestic  work. 

[257] 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abbot  house,  130 
Activty  the,  6 

Adam,  the   Brothers,  74;     their 
influence,    81,    90,    181,    256; 
garlands    a    favorite    motive 
of,  120;  Mclntire  completely 
under  spell   of,    155;  balance 
between    plain    surface    and 
delicate  ornament,  156;    man- 
tel design,   190,  203 ;     frieze, 
193;      urns,    199;      chimney 
piece,  204 ;   festooned  gardens, 
208;    festooned  drapery,  216; 
mantel  glass,  210 
Adams,  John,  43 
Allen,  Captain  Edward,  170 
Allen    (Captain   Edward)    house, 
65;     interior    of,     146,     147; 
corner   china   closet   of,    164; 
stairway  of,  169,  170;  mantel 
of,  192,  193 
Allen,  Reverend  James,  20 
Allen,  John  Fiske,  lOi,  102 
Allen-Osgood-Huntington  houses, 

lOI 

Almshouse,  Salem,  30 

Americay  the,  6 

Andirons,  153,  192,  194,  203,  207, 

210 
Andrew,  John,  95 
Andrew,  John  A.,  95 
Andrew-Safford     house,     94-96 ; 

porch    of,    128;      centerpiece 

and  cornice  of,  149;    interior 

doorway  of,  163 
Andrews,  Daniel,  38-40 


Andrews,  Colonel  Joseph,  104 

"Annals  of  Salem."     See  Felt 

Applied  work,  of  the  Read  man- 
sion, 192;  of  the  Captain 
Edward  Allen  house,  193 ; 
of  the  Peabody-Silsbee  house, 
198;  of  mantel  at  Essex 
Institute,  199,  210 

Archer,  Samuel,  8 

Arches,  keyed  round,  80;  flat- 
tened, 94;  elliptical,  165,  166, 
181,  182 

Architrave  casings,  108,  139;  of 
the  house  at  19  Chestnut  Street, 
68 ;  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house, 
77;  of  the  Bolles-Mansiield 
house,  88;  of  the  house  at 
23  Summer  Street,  114;  the 
preferred  form  in  modern  colo- 
nial work,  136;  of  the  Stephen 
W.  Phillips  house,  138;  of  the 
P  i  e  r  c  e- J  ohonnot-Nichols 
house,  148;  of  the  Crown- 
inshield  -  Devereux  -  Waters 
house,  159 

Archivolts,  182 

Arthur,  Prince,  of  England,  216 

Asby,  David,  88 

Assembly  Hall,  Salem,  218,  219    «***' 

B 

Babbidge   (B.    Parker)   house, 

248,  249 
Babbidge-Crowninshield  -  Bowker 

house,  31 ;  stairway  of,  178 
Bachelder  (Henry  M.)  house,  242, 

243 


[261] 


Index 


Bacon,  Samuel,  43 

Bainbridge,  Commodore  William, 
223 

Baldwin-Lyman  house,  91 ;  en- 
trance porch  of,  125 

Ball  molding,  90,  95,  97,  ic»,  123 

Ball's  BlufF,  battle  of,  70 

Balusters,  55,  89;  splendid  work- 
manship in,  174,  175;  of 
"The  Lindens",  176;  of 
the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
stairway,  180 

Balustraded  roof,  of  the  General 
Israel  Putn?m  house,  46;  of 
the  Ropes-Orne  house,  49; 
of  "The  Lindens",  49;  of 
the  Cabot-Endicott-Low 

house,  55 ;  of  the  Timothy 
Orne  house,  67 ;  of  the  house 
No.  19  Chestnut  Street,  68; 
of  the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  68,  80;  of  the  Cook- 
Oliver  house,  77;  of  the 
Gardner-White-Pingree  house, 
89,  90;  of  the  Andrew-Saf- 
ford  house,  95  ;  of  the  Silsbee- 
Mott  house,  97 

Balustrades,  61 ;  stair,  96;  porch, 
92,  93,  127,  170;  of  the 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  stair- 
way, 180;  of  the  Fraternity, 
227;     of  the  Custom  House, 

23  s 
Bancroft,  Daniel,  66 
Barnard,  Rev.  Thomas,  48,  51 
Bars,  105 

Barstow-West  house,  126 
Batten  doors,  22,  45,  105 
Batten  shutters,  158 
Bay  windows,  81,  133 
Bead  and  reel,  206 
Becketi  the,  6 
Becket,  Daniel  C,  8 
Becket,  John,  8 
Bdcket,  Retire,  6,  8 
Becket  (Retire)  house,  4,  6,  8 


Bell  pulls,  108 

Belvederes,  60-62 ;  of  the  Aaron 
Waite  house,  67;  of  the 
Boardman  house,  67;  of  the 
P  i  e  r  c  e- J  o  h  o  n  n  o  t-N  i  c  h  o  1  s 
house,  80;  of  the  Peabody- 
Silsbee  house,  90;  of  the 
Lyman  and  the  Pickman- 
Baldwin-Shreve-Little  house, 
92;  of  the  Andrew-SafFord 
house,  95 

Benjamin,  Asher,  47 

Bentley,  Dr.  William,  pastor  of 
the  Second  Church,  31,  224; 
his  diary,  42;  lived  in  the 
Crowninshield  house,  58 ; 
oration  of,  at  banquet,  Feb. 
22,  1793,  222;  on  Mclntire's 
death,  226 

Bertram,  Captain  John,  212,  213 

Bertram  Home  for  Aged  Men, 
113.  213 

Bishop,  Townsend,  19 

Bishop-Nurse  house,  19 

Blackall,  C.  H.,  252 

Blind  doors,  240 

Blind  fasteners,  240 

Blinds,  62,  115;  for  fireplaces, 
194,  202 

Boardman,  Captain,  65 

Boardman  house,  64,  67,  114 

Bolles,  Rev.  E.  C,  88 

Bolts,  108 

Bonding,  86 

Bouve  (Alan)  doorway,  250 

Bowditch,  Nathaniel,  10,  58 

Brackets,  23;  scroll,  170,  179; 
double-scroll,  180 

Bradstreet,  Governor  Simon,  10, 
26,  215 

Bradstreet  (Governor  Simon) 
house,  9,  10 

Brandywine,  battle  of,  17 

Brick  eastern  wall,  77 

Brick  paved  court,  80 

Bricks,    for    chimneys,    5;      for 

[262] 


Index 


filling  wooden  walls,  5 ;  first 
house  of,  in  Salem,  52;  as 
building  material  in  New  Eng- 
land, 53 

Brickwork,  21;  Flemish,  2; 
Georgian,  53 ;  characteristics 
contributed  by,  85 ;  limita- 
tions imposed  by,  on  window- 
panes,  138 

Briggs,  Enos,  65,  66 

Briggs-Whipple  house,  65  ;  win- 
dows of,  141 

Brookhouse,  Robert,  214 

Brookhouse  estate,  62 

Brooks,  Abner,  24 

Browne,  Dr.  Benjamin  F.,  82 

Browne,  Colonel  William,  228 

Browne  (Colonel  William)  man- 
sion, 16 

Building  materials,  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, 2 

Bulfinch,  Charles,  73,  75,  226, 
227 

Bull's-eye  light,  107,  131 

Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  58 

Butts,  158 


Cabot,  George,  52,  64 
Cabot,  Joseph,  54 
Cabot,  Joseph  S.,  54 
Cabot-Endicott-Low    house,    53 ; 
hall  and  stairway  of,  169,  176- 
178 
Capitals,  91 ;  freestone,  52 
Capitol  at  Washington,  D.  C,  74 
Carlton,  Rev.  Michael,  214 
Casements,  early,  131;    continued 
in  favor  for  about  one  hun- 
dred years,  132 
Casings,  seventeenth  century  door 
and  window,  32.    See  Window 

CASINGS 

Castiglioni,  Count,  58 
Ceiling  beams,  7 


"Cent  shops  ",  25 

Centerpieces,  148,  149 

Centre  Grammar  School,  24 

Chamberlain,  Right  Honorable 
Joseph,  55 

Chandelier,  in  South  Church, 
Salem,  226 

Chandler,  Joseph  Everett,  15 

Charter  Street  Burial  Ground,  83 

Chesapeake,  the,  70,  225 

Chestnut  Street,  86,  87 

Chickering,  Henry,  19 

Chimney  pieces,  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  81, 
156,  193,  194,  208-210;  pan- 
eled, 150;  crowning  feature 
of  the  room,  186;  develop- 
ment of,  186,  187;  of  "The 
Lindens",  187;  of  the  Lin- 
dall-Barnard-Andrews  house, 
204;  of  the  Crowninshield- 
Devereux-Waters  house,  206 

Chimney  pots,  30 

Chimney  stacks,  of  the  Governor 
Bradstreet  house,  10;  of  "The 
House  of  the  Seven  Gables  ", 
13 ;  of  the  Maria-Goodhue 
house,  20;  of  the  Narbonne 
house,  25;  of  the  "Witch 
house",  41 ;  of  the  Timothy 
Orne  house,  67 

Chimneys,  catted  wooden,  4; 
brick,  5 ;  location  of,  63-65, 
67 ;    in  Baldwin-Lyman  house, 

91 
Chippendale  influence,  180 
Choate,  Joseph  Hodges,  24,  231 
Churches,  English,  2 
City  Hall,  Salem,  70 
Clapboards    for  wall  covering,  5, 

23,  59 
Clark  house,  28 
Clark-Morgan  house,  36 
Classic  orders  and  ornaments,  3 
Clay,    chimneys    plastered    with, 

4;    for  brickwork  in  walls,  5, 


[263] 


Index 


23  ;  for  stonework,  7 ;  for 
plastering  rooms,  7;  for 
bricks,  53 

Clayboards,  5,  67,  77 

Cleopatra  s  Barge,  the,  6 

Cleveland,  Rev.  Charles,  68 

Cleveland,  Grover,  55,  68 

Clifford,  D.  A.,  231 

Clock,  in  South  Church,  Salem, 
225,  226 

Closets,  stairway,  corner,  164, 
168 

Cockle,  James,  232 

Coit,  Robert,  249 

Colonial  architecture,  character- 
istics of,  33 ;  the  fountain- 
head  of  design,  47;  Colonial 
traditions  supplanted  by  the 
Greek  Revival,  59;  three- 
story  square  houses  of  Salem 
only  remotely  colonial,  59; 
recurs  in  recent  buildings  at 
Salem,  237,  238,  250 

Colonnades,  80 

Colonnettes,  202 

Colors    for    house    painting,    23, 

55 

Columns,  engaged,  55 ;  square, 
64;  Tuscan,  70;  fluted,  95; 
of  the  porch  of  the  Gardner- 
White-Pingree  house,  128 

Conant,  Roger,  i 

Cook,  Captain  Samuel,  76,  230 

Cook  house,  37 

Cook-Oliver  house,  75-77 ;  porch 
of,  119;  gateposts  of,  119, 
120;  window  heads  of,  137; 
mantels  of,  154,  195,  197,  207; 
details  of  wood  finish  of,  154, 
155,  160;  stairway  of,  173; 
wall  paper  of,  207 

Copley,  John  Singleton,  43 

Corbeling,  41 

Corinthian  order,  55,  85;  pre- 
dominates from  1 8 16  to  1818, 
124;    in  doorways,    125-128; 


in  interior  wood  trim,  156, 
157,   162,   163;    in  halls,  182 

Come,  the  artist,  62 

Corner  buffet,  25 

Corner  china  closets,  164 

Cornices,  of  the  Diman  house, 
42  ;  boxed,  without  gutters, 
50;  of  the  Pickard-Derby 
house,  52 ;  of  the  Cook- 
Oliver  house,  77,  154,  197; 
of  the  Gardner-White-Pingree 
and  the  Peabody-Silsbee 
houses,  90;  of  the  Stephen 
W.  Phillips  house,  138;  gen- 
erally of  wood,  148;  of 
plaster,  148;  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  156, 
157;  of  the  Elias  Hasket 
Derby  mansion,  161 ;  of  the 
Home  for  Aged  Women,  162; 
of  the  Captain  Edward  Allen 
house,  193 ;  of  the  Crown- 
inshield  -  Devereux  -  Waters 
house,  206;  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  210. 
See    Ball   molding,    Modil- 

LIONS 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  17 
Corwin,  Jonathan,  37-41 
Couch,  Lester  S.,  256 
"County      Builder's      Assistant, 

The  ",  Asher  Benjamin,  47 
Courthouse  of  1785,  66,  219-221 
Coved  ceiling,  75 
Cranch,  Richard,  43 
Crowninshield,  Benjamin  W.,  31, 

149,  179,  214,  234 
Crowninshield,  Clifford,  71 
Crowninshield,    Captain   George, 

6,  3i»  234 
Crowninshield,    Jacob,    31,    179, 

234 
Crowninshield  (John)  house,  58 
Crowninshield,  Sarah,  71 
Crowninshield  -  Devereux  -Waters 

house,    70-72;     windows    of. 


[264] 


Index 


141;  interior  doorways  of,  159, 
160;    chimney  piece  of,  206 

Cupolas,  61,  235 

Curwen-Osgood  house,  121 

Custom  House,  Salem,  231-235 

Cymatium,  207 


Dado,  146,  147,  156 

Dan  vers  houses :  Prince  (Robert), 
3,  5 ;  Rea-Putnam- Fowler, 
19,  20;  George  Jacobs,  26, 
27;  John  Walcott,  27,  28; 
Clark,  28;  Judge  Samuel 
Holten,  29,  30;  Jesse  Put- 
nam,   30;     "The    Lindens", 

49,  S4»  55.  57 
Davenport,  Captain  Richard,  38, 

39 

Decked  roofs.     Sft  Roofs 

Dentil  course,  in  Cook-Oliver 
house,  155;  in  the  Crownin- 
shield-Devereux-Wa  t  ers 
house,  160;  in  the  Home  for 
Aged  Women,  162;  in  the 
Read  mansion,  191 ;  in  the 
Derby  -  Crowninshield  -  Rogers 
house,  196;  hand-tooled,  200; 
in  the  Woman's  Friend  Soci- 
ety and  the  Pickman  house, 
201 

Dentils,  42,  52,  181 

Derby,  Elias  Hasket,  born  in  the 
Derby- Ward  house,  5 1 ; 
Richard  Derby  house  intended 
for,  52 ;  Pickman- Derby- 
Brookhouse  mansion  residence 
of,  61 ;  owner  of  the  Grand 
Turkt  66;  son  of,  149;  gar- 
dens of,  229 

Derby  (Elias  Hasket)  mansion, 
58,  61,  76,  78,  230,  231; 
doorhead  and  wood  trim  of, 
160,  161 

Derby,  Ezekiel  Hersey,  149 


Derby,  Richard,  50-52 

Derby  (Richard)  house,  51-53, 
86 ;  doorway  of,  1 1 1 ;  win- 
dows, 138;  interior  of,  146, 
147,  150;  interior  of  front 
door  of,  181 

Derby-C  rowninshiel  d- Rogers 
house,  148,  149;  stairway  of, 
171,  172,  173 ;  hall  of,  181, 
182;    mantels  of,  196,  204 

Derby- Ward  house,  50,  51 

Derby  fleet,  the,  62 

Derby  gardens,  229 

Derby  Square,  230 

Derby  wharf,  65 

Devereux,  Humphrey,  100 

Devereux,  Captain  James,  71 

Diman,  Rev.  James,  42 

Diman  (Rev.  James)  house,  41 

Diocletian's  palace  at  Spalato, 
190 

Dodge,  Pickering,  loi 

Dodge-Shreve  house,  92,  93 ; 
entrance,  126;    lintel  of,  140 

Door  handles,  108 

Doorheads,  pedimental,  28,  60; 
of  the  Elias  Hasket  Derby 
mansion,  160,  161 ;  of  the 
Post  Office,  251 

Door  trim,  108,  157,  160 

Doors,  inside,  two-panel,  25 ;  of 
the  Narbonne  house,  26,  60; 
of  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  151,  158;  of  the 
Elias  Hasket  Derby  mansion, 
161 ;     of    different    paneling, 

174 
Doors,  outside,  of  the  John  Ward 
house,  22;  of  the  Goodale 
house,  27;  double,  of  the 
Holten  inclosed  porch,  29; 
of  the  Lang  house,  32;  of 
the  Benjamin  Pickman  house, 
57;  of  the  Aaron  Waite 
house,  67;  of  the  Rantoui 
house,    68;      of    the    Goss- 


[26s] 


Index 


Osgood  house,  68;  of  the 
Pierce-Johonnot-Nicho'ls 
house,  80;  of  Hawthorne's 
Mall  Street  house,  83  ;  batten, 
105 ;  framed  and  paneled, 
106;  four-part  Dutch,  106; 
six-panel,  107;  four-panel, 
107;  solid,  107;  with  bull's- 
eye  light,  107;  with  transom, 
107;  knockers,  etc.,  108; 
double  blind,  1 1 1 ;  on  porch 
of  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  115;  of  Whipple  house, 
116;  eight-panel,  117;  three- 
piece,  125;  of  the  Market 
House,  228 
Doorways,  of  the  Bradstreet 
house,  9;  pedimental,  32; 
simplicity  of  those  on  early 
gambrel-roof  houses,  47;  of 
the  Richard  Derby  house,  52; 
of  the  Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood 
house,  53  ;  of  the  Cabot-Endi- 
cott-Low  house,  54;  of  the 
Briggs-Whipple  house,  65 ;  of 
the  George  M.  Whipple  house, 
66;  of  the  Crowninshield- 
Devereux-Waters  house,  70 ; 
of  the  Cook-Oliver  house,  77 ; 
of  the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  80;  of  the  Mansfield- 
Bolles  house,  87 ;  of  the  house 
12  Chestnut  Street,  91 ;  of  the 
Baldwin-Lyman  house,  91 ; 
of  the  Pickman-Shreve-Little 
house  and  the  Dodge-Shreve 
house,  92;  of  the  Loring- 
Emmerton  house,  94;  "east 
wind"  recessed,  103,  105;  the 
George  Jacobs  and,  Sarah 
Prince  Osburn,  107;  with 
gable-roof  inclosed  porch,  109; 
the  dominant  exterior  feature, 
109,  no;  of  the  Lindall-Bar- 
nard- Andrews  house,  no;  of 
the  Richard  Derby  house,  in; 


pineapple,  of  the  Thomas 
Poynton  house,  in,  112;  of 
the  Weir  house,  112;  of  the 
Meek  house,  113;  of  the 
White-Lord  house,  113;  of 
Putnam  birthplace,  116; 
open,  pedimental,  116;  of 
the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  117;  welcoming,  of 
Salem,    118;     of   the    Ropes 


Memorial, 
recessed,   121 
Aged  Women, 
130. 
124 


121;  other 

of   Home  for 

121,  122,  129, 

162;  of  the  Salem  Club, 

of  the  Pickman-Shreve- 


Little  house,  125;  of  the  Bar- 
stow- West  house,  126;  of  the 
Mansfield-Bolles  house,  129; 
of  the  Abbot  house,  130;  of 
the  Crowninshield-Devereux- 
Waters  house,  159, 160;  of  the 
And rew-S afford  house,  163  ; 
round-headed,  164;  of  china 
closets,  164;  front,  interior 
of,  180-183  ;  of  the  T.  Irving 
Fenno  house,  241,  242;  pic- 
turesque  new,   249,    250 

Dorchester  Company,  i 

Doric  porch,  63,  68,  80,  90,  115- 

117 
Dormers,  22,  30,  44,  47;    gable- 
roof,  hipped-roof,  and  lean-to, 
54;     gable    in    place   of,    55, 

56 
Double  houses,  212 
Downing,  Ann,  10 
Downing,  Emanuel,  9,  10,  215 
Downing,  Sir  George,  10 
Downing  College,  England,  10 
Drop  handles,  151,  158 
Drops,  turned,  16 
Dudley,  Governor,  fire  prevention 

order,  21 
Dutch  door,  25 
Dutch  influences,  44,  49 
Dutch  tiles,  40 


[266] 


Index 


Eagle,  sculptural,  62 ;  outdoors, 

■•  as  a  sculpture  in  full  relief, 
198;  indoors,  adorning  the 
frieze  of  mantels,  199,  200;  on 
shield,  as  mantel  ornament, 
200;  wooden,  at  Essex  Insti- 
tute, 232;  on  the  Custom 
House,  235 

East  Church,  Salem,  31,  42,  224 

East  India  Marine"  Hall,  86 

Eave-guard,  98 

Eaves,  61,  68,  77 

Eden-Brown  house,  58,  121 

Egg  and  dart  motive,  151,  176, 
189,  202 

Elizabethan  house  types,  3,  7, 
9,  16,  18,  21 

Elks,  Order  of,  218 

Emmerton,  Caroline  O.,  9,  15, 
24,  94 

Endicott,  Captain  Charles  M., 
102 

Endicott,  Governor  John,  i,  20, 
26,  57 

Endicott,  John,  Jr.,  20 

Endicott,  Mary,  55 

Endicott,  William  Crowninshield. 

54.  214 
Endicott  house,  123 
End-to-the-street      houses,      72 ; 
home  of  Mclntire,  72 ;   house 
at    18    Chestnut    Street,    81; 
the    Mall    Street   house,    83 ; 
the  Grimshawe  house,  83  ;  the 
Mansfield-Bolles     house,     87; 
Woman's  Friend  Society,  212; 
the   T.    Irving   Fenno   house, 
241 
English  (Philip)  house,  1 1,  132 
Entablature,   136,   145,  157,  162 
Entrances,  of  the   Bishop-Nurse 
house,     19;     of    the    Jacobs 
house,    26;     of   the    Walcott 
house,  28 ;  of  the  Clark  house. 


28;  of  the  Lindall-Gibbs- 
Osgood  house,  53 ;  of  the 
Landor  house,  69;  of  Haw- 
thorne's Chestnut  Street 
home,  81 ;  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
house,  119,  120;  of  the  Ropes 
Memorial,  120,  121;  of  Home 
for  Aged  Women,  121,  129, 
130;  of  the  Salem  Club,  124; 
of  Dodge-Shreve  house,  126; 
of  the  Barstow-West  house, 
126.    Sifif  Doorways,  Porches 

Essex,  the  frigate,  65 

Essex  County  Natural  History 
Society,  30 

Essex  Historical  Society,  16,  30 

Essex  Institute,  model  of  Becket 
Cottage  at,  8 ;  site  of  the 
museum  building,  9,  11; 
painting  of  the  Governor  Brad- 
street  house  at,  9;  sketches 
of  Parkman  and  English 
houses  at,  11;  rough-cast 
ornament  from  the  Browne 
mansion  at,  16;  fireback 
from  the  Pickering  house  at, 
16;  John  Ward  house  at, 
21 ;  collection  of  antiques  at, 
22  ;  painting  of  trial  of  George 
Jacobs  in  picture  gallery,  27; 
origin  of,  30;  founder  of,  35; 
Corwin  papers  at,  38;  carved 
and  gilded  codfish  from  end  of 
stair  at  Benjamin  Pickman 
house,  57;  arch  from  Ben- 
jamin Pickman  house  at,  57; 
cupola  of  Pickman  house  at, 
62;  Mclntire  plans  and  tools 
at,  74;  inclosed  porch  from 
the  Grimshawe  house  in  the 
garden  of,  84;  negatives  of 
witchcraft  photographs  at,  88 ; 
the  pineapple  doorway  of 
Thomas  Poynton  house  at, 
112;  the  Tucker-Rice  porch 
at,  127,  211;    casement  sash 


[267] 


Indi 


ex 


preserved  at,  131;  fine  old 
stairway  at,  175;  reconstruc- 
tion of  ancient  kitchen  at, 
185 ;  mantel  with  eagle  at, 
199;  profile  bas-relief  of  Wash- 
ington at,  221 ;  balustrade 
of  gallery  of  Washington  Hall 
at,  222;  Mclntire's  plans 
of  Browne's  estate  at,  229; 
wooden  cage  at,  232;  Haw- 
thorne's desk  at,  233 ;  copy 
of  scarlet-letter  law  at,  234 
"Evangeline",  Longfellow,  15 
Exterior  wood  trim,  47,  54 


Facade,  of  the  Rea-Putnam- 
Fowler  house,  18;  of  square 
three-story  houses,  60;  of 
the  Simon  Forrester  house, 
63 ;  of  the  Crowninshield- 
Devereux-Waters  house,  70 ; 
of  the  Gardner-White-Pingree 
house,  88,  89;  of  the  house  12 

\  Chestnut  Street,  90;  of  the 
Pickman-Shreve-Little  house 
and  the  Dodge-Shreve  house, 
92,  93  ;  of  the  And  re  w-S  afford 
house,  96;  of  the  Assembly 
Hall,  218;  of  the  Masonic 
Temple,  256 

Fairfax,  William,  232 

Fanlights,  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  house,  80,  117;  of 
the  Pickman-Shreve-Little 
house,  93 ;  of  the  Hoffman- 
Simpson  house,  100;  develop- 
ment of,  108,  112;  elliptical, 
of  the  Barstow-West  house, 
126;  glazed,  with  elliptical 
arch,  165;  segmental,  in  Mar- 
ket House,  228;  of  Fenno 
house,  242 

Fanning,  George  H.,  250 

Farrington,  Dr.  G.  P.,  41 


Fascia,  147,  162 

Father  Mathew  Catholic  Total 
Abstinence  Society,  127,  2H 

Federal  period  of  architecture  in 
Salem,  64 

"Federal  Street",  the  tune,  76 

Federal  type  of  Colonial  archi- 
tecture, 62 

Felt,  quoted  or  cited,  52,  68,  lOi, 
102,  109,  220,  229 

Fence  posts,  120 

Fences,  of  the  Ropes  Memorial, 
49;  of  the  Briggs-Whipple 
house  and  the  George  M. 
Whipple  house,  65,  66;  of 
the  Aaron  Waite  house,  67; 
of  the  Crowninshield-Deve- 
reux-Waters  house,  71 ;  of  the 
Cook-Oliver  house,  76;  of 
the  Pierce  -  Johonnot  -  Nichols 
house,  80,  117;  of  the  Arthur 
W.  West  house,  91 ;  of  the 
Baldwin-Lyman  house,  91, 
125;  of  the  Dodge-Shreve  and 
the  Pickman-Shreve-Little 
houses,  93  ;  of  the  Mack  and 
Stone  houses,  97 ;  of  the  Gard- 
ner-White-Pingree house,  127; 
of  the  George  A.  Morrill  house, 
240 

Fenestration.     See  Windows 

Fenno  (T.  Irving)  house,  241,  242 

Festooned  drapery,  62 

Fields,  James  T.,  83 

Figure  work,  196 

Fire  of  1914,  at  Salem,  236 

Fireback,  of  the  House  of  the 
Seven  Gables,  13;  of  the 
Pickering  house,  16;  early, 
184 

Fireplace  wall,  150,  151;  sym- 
metrical arrangement  of,  152, 

153 
Fireplaces,  in  the  General  Israel 
Putnam  house,  45,  46;    loca- 
tion of,  52;    early,  184;    de- 

[268] 


Index 


velopment  of,  185 ;  of  the 
Salem  Cadet  Armory,  217 

Fire  sets,  192,  200,  203,  210 

First  Church,  Boston,  20 

First  Church,  Salem,  20,  61 

Flagstones,  50 

Flemish  bond,  86 

Flemish  brickwork,  2 

Flemish  tiles,  192 

Floor  plan,  73 

Foreshortening  of  three-story 
houses,  59,  62,  140;  at  27 
and  29  Daniels  Street,  21 ;  the 
Captain  Edward  Allen  house, 
65 ;  the  Frederick  W.  Lander 
birthplace,  69;  the  Cook- 
Oliver  house,  77;  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  79 ; 
the  Gardner-White-Pingree 
house,  89;  the  Peabody-Sils- 
bee  house,  90 

Forrester,  John,  217 

Forrester  (Simon)  house,  63,  65 ; 
stairway  of,  169,  170 

Fowler,  Augustus,  19 

Franklin,  the,  71. 

Fraternity,  Salem,  226,  227 

Freestone  capitals,  52 

"French  curb"  roof,  35 

"French  hip"  roof,  35 

Fresco,  62 

Friendship,  the,  102 

Frieze,  of  the  Stephen  W.  Phillips 
and  the  Nathan  C.  Osgood 
houses,  138;  of  "The  Lin- 
dens", 148;  of  the  Derby- 
Crowninshield-Rogers  house, 
148;  of  the  Crowninshield- 
Devereux-Waters  house,  159, 
160;  of  the  Captain  Edward 
Allen  house,  193 ;  of  the 
Pierce- Johonnot- Nichols 
house,  193 ;  of  the  Lindall- 
Barnard-Andrews  house,   203 

Fuller  (George  W.)  house,  door- 
way of,  250 


Furniture,  Colonial,  64 


Gable-roof  houses,  1-17, 18, 62, 
72;  with  gambrel-roof  addi- 
tions, 47 

Gage,  General  Thomas,  51,  56, 
57,  225,  228 

Gallier,  James,  quoted,  224,  225 

Gallows  Hill,  27 

Gambrel  roof,  introduction  of, 
30;  the  prevailing  style  of 
Provincial  times,  34;  origin 
of,  34;  derivation  of  its 
name,  36;  characteristic  pro- 
portion and  pitch  in  Salem, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
Maryland,  37;  identified  with 
the  witchcraft  delusion,  37; 
gambrel  lean-to  houses  (Doc- 
tor Henry  Wheatland  house), 
30;  gambrel-roof  "jut-by" 
(Derby-Ward  house),  50 

Gambrel-roof  houses,  character- 
istics of,  33 ;  examples  of, 
34-57,    246 

Gardens,  of  the  Cabot-Endicott- 
Low  house,  55 ;  of  Ezekiel 
Hersey  Derby,  149;  the 
Derby,  229 

Gardner,  Captain  Joseph,  10 

Gardner-White-Pingree  house,  88, 
89;  porch  of,  127;  windows 
of,  141 

Garlands,  120 

Gateposts,  of  the  Ropes  Memo- 
rial, 49;  of  the  Aaron  Waite 
house,  67 ;  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
house,  76,  119,  120;  of  the 
Pierce  -  Johonnot  -  Nichols 
house,  80,  117;  of  the  Bald- 
win-Lyman house,  91,  125;  of 
the  Loring-Emmerton  house, 
94;  of  the  Lindall-Barnard- 
Andrews  house,  no 


[269] 


Index 


Gateways,  60,  64 

Georgian  architecture,  3,  47,  52- 

54,  74,  III,  136 
Germantown,  7;   battle  of,  17 
Gibson  (Lancelot)  house,  247 
Glass,  for  windows,  131 
Goodale,  David,  28 
Good  ale,  Isaac,  27 
Goodale  (Isaac)  house,  27 
Goodale,  Jacob  Oscar,  27 
Goodale,  Zachariah,  28 
Goodell,  Zina,  72 
Goodhue,  Sr.,  Benjamin,  31 
Goodhue,  Senator  Benjamin,  35 
Goodhue      (Senator      Benjamin) 

birthplace,  30,  35,  134 
Goodhue  (Maria)   house,  20,  134 
Gothic,  last  phase  of,  in  England, 

2.3 

Goss-Osgood  house,  68 

"Governor's  Plain",  20 

Grand  Turk,  the,  65 

"Grandfather's  Chair",  Haw- 
thorne, 14 

Grangent,  Louis,  242 

Grates,  hob,  189, 197,200,202,208 

Graves,  Thomas,  7 

Gray,  John  M.,  254 

Gray,  William,  Jr.,  16 

Gray  (William,  Jr.)  residence,  16 

Great  Swamp  Fight,  10,  19 

Grecian  fret,  147,  156,  182,  191 

Greek  classics,  74 

Greek  revival,  characteristics,  30, 
59,  91,  96,  97,  99 

Greenhouse  and  grapery  of  John 
Fiske  Allen,  loi,  102 

Grimshawe  house,  81,  83,  84; 
windows  of,  141 

Guttae,  123 

Gutters,  54 

H 

Half-timber  work,  2 

Halls,  in  early  Salem  houses  were 


mere  entries,  167;  an  impor- 
tant interior  feature,  172; 
leading  to  rear  door,  172; 
of  "The  Lindens",  175,  176; 
of  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nich- 
ols  house,  176;  of  the  Cabot- 
Endicott-Low  house,  176-178; 
of  the  Pickman-Derby-Brook- 
house  mansion,  179;  arches 
in,  181,  182;  with  semicircular 
ends  and  curved  upper  por 
tion,  182,  183 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  58,  222 

Hamilton  Hall,  195,  222-224     <^*> 

Hancock,  General,  70 

Hancock  (John)  mansion,  56 

Hand  rails,  93 

"Harvard  (John)  and  His  An- 
cestry", 64 

Hathorne,  William,  232 

Hawthorne,  Julian,  82 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  many- 
gabled  houses  of  Salem  im- 
mortalized by,  3,  11-17; 
"Note-books",  11,  14;  lean- 
to  house  described  by,  25 ; 
gambrel-roof  houses  asso- 
ciated with,  44,  51;  three- 
story  square  houses  associated 
with,  81-83  '■>  ^"<i  t^6  Salem 
Custom  House,  232-234;  and 
the  "Scarlet  Letter",  233,  234. 

Hawthorne  (Nathaniel)  birth- 
place, 44 

Herbert  Street  residence  of  Haw- 
thorne, 51 

Heussler,  George,  229 

High  School,  Salem,  230,  231 

Hinges,  strap,  25,  105 ;  wrought- 
iron  strap  or  L,  131,  158 

Hipped  roofs,  62,  67;  of  the 
Hosmer  -  Townsend  -  Waters 
house,  64;  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  80; 
of  the  house  at  1 8  Chestnut 
Street,  81 ;  of  the  Wall  Street 


^> 


[270] 


Indt 


ex 


house,    83 ;   of   the   Peabody- 
Silsbee  house,  90 
Hob  grates,   189,   197,   200,   202, 

208 
Hodges,  Captain  Jonathan,  90 
Hodges-Webb-Meek  house,   58 
Hoffman,    Captain    Charles,    100 
Hoffman  house,  123 
Hoffman-Simpson  house,  100,  139, 

182 
Holten,  Benjamin,  29 
Holten,  Judge  Samuel,  29 
Holten  (Judge  Samuel)  house,  29 
Home  for  Aged  Women,  entrance 
of,  121,  129,  130;    wood-trim 
of,   161-163 ;    mantel  of,  201, 
202;   history  of,  214 
"Homewood",  253,  254 
Hooper,  Benjamin,  23 
Hooper  (George  L.)  house,  249 
Hooper,   Robert  ("King"),  56 
Hooper  ("King")  house,   177 
Hooper-Collins  house.     S^^  "The 

Lindens" 
Hosmer,  Captain  Joseph,  64 
Hosmer-Townsend-Waters  house, 
64,  65 ;  windows  of,  141 ;  man- 
tel of,  199,  200 
"  House    of    the    Seven    Gables, 
The",  3,  11-14,  24,  25;   win- 
dows of,  133,  134;   stairway  of, 
168 
House  of  the  Seven  Gables  Settle- 
ment Association,  9 
Hubon  house,  175 
Hull,  Captain  Isaac,  223 
Hunt  (Lewis)  house,  11 
Huntington,  Asahel,  103 

I 

Ingersoll,  Horace,  14 

IngersoU,  Susan,  13,  14 

Interior  woodwork,  of  "  The 
House  of  the  Seven  Gables  " 
parlor,   12;    of  the  Narbonne 


house,  25 ;  eighteenth  in 
seventeenth  century  houses, 
32;  of  the  "Witch  house", 
41 ;  of  the  Cabot-Endicott- 
Low  house,  54;  of  "The 
Lindens  ",  56,  145,  146;  of  the 
Benjamin  Pickman  house,  57; 
of  post-Revolutionary  houses, 
60;  of  the  Hosmer-Townsend- 
Waters  house,  64;  of  the 
Pierce  -  Johonnot  -  Nichols 
house,  78,  81,  I50-I53»  ^l^- 
158;  white,  charm  of,  143; 
balance  between  plain  surface 
and  decoration  important, 
144;  of  the  Derby-Crown- 
inshield-Rogers  house,  148, 
149;  of  the  Richard  Derby 
house,  150;  of  the  Putnam- 
Hanson  house,  152;  of  the 
Pitman  house,  152,  153;  of  the 
Cook-Oliver  house,  154,  160; 
of  the  Salem  Club,i5S;  of  the 
Crowninshield-Devereux- 
Waters  house,  159,  160;  of 
the  Elias  Hasket  Derby  man- 
sion, 160,  161 ;  of  the  Home 
for  Aged  Women,  161-163 
Ionic  order,  49,  61,  85,  122-124 
Iron,  wrought  and  cast,  128 


Jacobean  house  types,  3 

Jacobs,  George,  Sr.,  27 

Jacobs  (George)  house,  26;  door- 
way of,  107;   windows,  134 

Japan,  71 

Jenks,  Elisha,  16 

Jig-saw  work,  71 

Johonnot,  George,  79 

Jones,  Inigo,  187,  188 

Josselyn,  John,  7 

"Jut-bys",  of  the  Jacobs  house, 
26;  of  the  Goodale  house, 
27;     of  the    Walcott    house. 


[271  ] 


Index 


27;  of  the  Derby- Ward  house, 
50 ;  of  the  Cook-Oliver,  77 

K 

Kernwood  Country  Club,  The, 

218 
Keyed  lintels,  92,  93,  95,  98 
Kimball  house,  porch  of,  122 
King  Philip's  War,  10,  19 
Knights  of  Columbus,  218 
Knobs,  io8,  115,  240 
Knockers,  80,  105,  108,  115,  240 


Lafayette,  218,  222 

Lander  (General  Frederick  W.) 
birthplace,  69,  141 

Lander  (General  Frederick  W.) 
house,  69 

Lang,  Benjamin  J.,  32 

Lang,  Jeffrey,  32 

Lang  (Jeffrey)  house,  31,  134 

Latches,  wrought  iron,  25,  32; 
thumb,  25,  32,  105,  108,  117, 
240 

Latchstring,  26,  105 

Latrobe,  B.  H.,  75,  226 

Lawrence,  Captain,  70 

Leaded  glass,  108,  116 

Lean-to,  of  "The  House  of  the 
Seven  Gables",  12;  of  the 
Pickering  house,  16;  for  en- 
largement and  also  as  one 
with  the  main  house,  18;  a 
downward  continuation  of  the 
main  roof,  18 ;  of  the  Goodhue 
and  Silsbee  houses,  20 ;  typical 
three-story,  21;  of  flatter 
pitch  than  main  roof,  21 ; 
joining  house  below  main 
roof,  24 ;  with  a  gambrel  roof, 
25;  the  "jut-by"  lean-to, 
26,  27;  across  the  gable  end 
of  the   main   house,   29,   45 ; 


springing  from  the  eaves  of  a 
gambrel  roof,  31 

Lean-to  houses,  18-33,  37;  as 
prototype  for  modern  build- 
ings, 238;  the  George  A. 
Morrill  house,  239-241;  the 
Noyes  house,  241 

Ledge-stone  houses  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, 7 

Lee  (Jeremiah)  mansion,  56 

Lenox,  Mass.,  82 

Leslie,  Colonel,  51,  56,  63 

"Life  of  Longfellow",  Samuel 
Longfellow,  15 

Lime,  for  mortar,  7,  8 ;   of  shells, 

7 

Lindall,  Timothy,  48 

Lindall-Barnard-Andrews  house, 
47;  doorway  of,  110;  stair- 
way of,  171,  174;  mantels  of, 
203,  204 

Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood  house,  53, 
58;   windows  of,  141 

"Lindens,  The",  balustraded  roof 
of,  49;  architect  of,  54;  ex- 
terior features  of,  54,  55 ; 
named  by  Francis  Peabody, 
57;  paneling  of,  145,  146; 
hall  and  stairway  of,  175, 
176;  back  stairway  of,  178; 
chimney  piece  of,  187;  mantel 
of,  191 

Lintels,  138;  of  the  Baldwin- 
Lyman  and  the  Pickman- 
Shreve-Little  houses,  92,  140; 
of  the  Loring-Emmerton 
house,  93 ;  of  the  Andrew- 
Safford  and  Dodge-Shreve 
houses,  95 ;  of  the  Mack  and 
Stone  houses,  98;  of  the 
Hoffman-Simpson  house,  100, 
139;  of  the  James  W,  Thomp- 
son house,  139;  of  the  Charles 
Sanders  house,  140;  of  the 
Salem  Cadet  Armory,  216 

Little,  Philip,  87 


[272] 


Index 


Little  and  Brown,  242 

Locks,  22,  108 

Log  cabins,  i 

Longfellow,  Samuel,  15 

Looney,  Caroline  O.,  28 

Loring,  George  Bailey,  94 

Loring-Emmerton  house,  93,  94 

Lothrop,  Captain  Thomas,  19 

Low,  Daniel,  31,  55 

Lowestoft  ware,  188 

L's,  62,  70,  73 ;  of  the  Aaron 
Waite  house,  67;  of  the 
William  G.  Rantoul  house, 
68 ;  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house, 
77;  of  the  Gardner-White- 
Pingree  house,  88 

Ludlow,  Lieutenant,  70 

Luscomb,  Samuel,  225 

Lyndhurst,  Baron,  44 

M 

MacDuff,  a.  J.,  241 

Mack,  Esther,  213 

Mack  and   Stone  houses,  97,  98 

Mack  Industrial  School,  212,  213 

Mahogany,  174 

Manning  homestead,  44 

Manor  houses,  English,  2 

Mansard,  Francois,  34 

Mansard  roof,  origin  of,  34;  in 
America,  35  ;   in  Paris,  36 

Mansfield-Bolles  house,  87,  88; 
porch  of,  129 

Mantels,  in  the  Narbonne  house, 
25  ;  in  Mclntire's  house,  75  ; 
in  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  81,  188,  189;  of  the 
Derby  -Crowninshield  -  Rogers 
house,  149,  204;  of  the 
Putnam-Hanson  house,  152; 
of  the  Pitman  house,  152; 
of  the  Cook-Oliver  house, 
154,  19s.  I97»  207;  develop- 
ment of,  185;  crowning  fea- 
ture of  the  room,  186;  articles 


displayed  on,  188;  designs 
of  Mclntire  in,  189,  190; 
designs  of  the  Adam  brothers 
in,  190;  in  Adams  manner, 
placed  against  shelfless  panel- 
ing, 191 ;  of  the  Read  Man- 
sion, 191,  192;  of  the  Cap- 
tain Edward  Allen  house,  192, 
193;  of  the  Cook-Oliver  house, 
i95>  1975  of  Hamilton  Hall, 
195;  of  the  Derby-Crownin- 
shield-Rogers  house,  196;  of 
the  Peabody-Silsbee  house, 
197,  198;  of  the  Hosmer- 
Townsend-Waters  house,  199, 
2CO;  of  the  Woman's  Friend 
Society  and  the  Pickman 
house,  200,  201,  202;  of  the 
Home  for  Aged  Women,  201, 
202;  of  the  Lindall-Barnard- 
Andrews  house,  203 ;  of  the 
Daniel  P.  Waters  house,  204, 
205 ;  of  the  Crowninshield- 
Devereux-Waters  house,  206 
Mantel-tree,  185 
Marble,    exterior    bands    of,    88 ; 

lintels,  139,  140 
Margaret,  the,  6 
Market    House,    Salem,    76,    78, 

227-230 
Marston,  Benjamin,  52 
Marston  (Benjamin)  house,  52 
Maryland   Historical   Society,  75 
Masonic  Temple,  Salem,  61,  217, 

255-257 
Massachusetts  Magazine,  quoted, 

219 
Massachusetts  State  House,  73 
Mather,  Rev.  Cotton,  27 
Matterson,  the  artist,  27 
McClellan,  General,  70 
Mclntire,   Joseph,    43 
Mclntire,     Samuel,     Read  house 

designed   by,   10,   191 ;    Ruck 

house  owned  by  his  father,  43  ; 

birthplace  and  home  of,  43 ; 


[273  ] 


Index 


added  porch  to  the  Benjamin 
Pickman  house,  57;  Elias 
Hasket  Derby  mansion  de- 
signed by,  61,  62;  Stearns 
house  porch  by,  63 ;  Hosmer- 
Townsend-Waters  house  by, 
64 ;  Pierce- Johonnot- Nichols 
house  by,  66,  78,  117,  188, 
189;  Courthouse  of  1785  by, 
66 ;  Crovvninshield-Devereux- 
Waters  house  by,  71 ;  home 
of,  72,  74;  Salem  architecture 
for  thirty  years  dominated  by, 
73 ;  obtained  individuality 
through  variation  of  the 
floor  plan,  73 ;  enriched  the 
Colonial  house  type  of  his 
day  by  the  beautiful  details 
of  his  doorways,  porches,  win- 
dows, cornices,  deck  roofs, 
belvederes,  pilasters,  73 ;  suc- 
cessful in  foreshortening  third 
stories,  73 ;  adapted  his  mo- 
tives directly  from  the  Greek 
and  Roman  classics,  74;  his 
doorways,  chimney  pieces,  and 
wood  trim  have  influenced 
more  modern  Colonial  work 
than  those  of  any  other  early 
American  architect,  74;  plans 
and  tools  of,  at  the  Essex  In- 
stitute, 74;  his  design  for  the 
national  capitol  at  the  Mary- 
land Historical  Society,  74; 
his  shop,  music  room,  and 
organ,  75;  Cook-Oliver  gate- 
posts hand-tooled  by,  76; 
architect  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
house,  76,  119,  154;  displayed 
his  best  efforts  on  the  wood- 
work, mantels,  and  chimney 
pieces  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  house,  81;  brick 
houses  which  are  the  work  of, 
or  show  his  influence,  86; 
Gardner-White-Pingree  house 


designed  by,  88,  127;  Pea- 
body-Silsbee  house  designed 
by,  89;  Home  for  Aged 
Women  designed  by,  121,  161 ; 
house  at  14  Pickman  Street 
erected  by,  122;  window- 
heads  in  Cook-Oliver  house 
t>y>  137;  excelled  in  interior 
woodwork,  144;  "Oak  Hill" 
designed  by,  150;  under  the 
spell  of  the  Adams  brothers, 
155;  his  use  of  the  broken 
flight,  169;  David  P.  Waters 
house  designed  by,  171 ;  under 
the  spell  of  Chippendale,  180; 
his  mantels,  190,  197,  203- 
205,  207;  his  eagles,  198,  200, 
223,  232;  Tucker-Rice  house 
designed  by,  211;  Assembly 
Hall  designed  by,  218;  Court- 
house of  1785  designed  by, 
219;  his  bas-relief  of  George 
Washington,  221;  Washing- 
ton Hall  designed  by,  222; 
South  Church  erected  by, 
224;  architect  of  many  public 
buildings,  226;  Bentley's 
diary  on,  226 

Mclntire  (Samuel)  house,  43 

Medallions,  147 

Meek  house,  113 

Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art, 
161 

Miller,  General  James,  214,  232 

Minerva,  the,  71 

Mocha  trade,   71 

Modillions,  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
house,  77 ;  of  the  Arthur  W. 
West  house,  91 ;  of  the  Pick- 
man-Shreve-Little  and  the 
Dodge-Shreve  house,  92 ;  of 
the  Andrew-Saff^ord  house,  95, 
163  ;  of  the  Meek  house,  113  ; 
of  the  Home  for  Aged  Women, 
162 

Molding,   ball,   90,   95,   97,    100, 


[274] 


Indt 


ex 


123;  rope,  162,  197,  202; 
bolection,  163,  187;  dentic- 
ulated, 181,  208;  ovolo,  189, 
209;  ogee,  189,208;  double- 
denticulated,  193,  209;  hand- 
planed,  195;  hand-tooled 
vertical,  fluted,  195 ;  of  the 
Derby  -  Crowninshield  -  Rog- 
ers mantels,  196;  of  the 
Hosmer  -  Townsend  -  Waters 
house,  200 

Monroe,  President,  214,  228 

Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,  57 

Morgan  sisters,  36 

Morrill,  George  A.,  house  of, 
239-241 

Mount  Vernon,  the,  6 

Musical  instruments,  206,  207,  208 

Mutules,    122 


N 

Narbonne  house,  24,  134 
Naumkeag,  i,  130 
Newels,  55;    spiral,   162;    struc- 
tural    uprights,     168;      cork- 
screw,   170;     splendid    work- 
manship   in,     174,     175;      in 
the    C  a  b  o  t-E  n  d  i  c  o  t  t-L  o  w 
house,     178;      accompanying 
twisted     balusters,     178;     at 
"The  Lindens",   178;  of  the 
Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols  house 
stairway,  180 
Nichols,  George,  78,  79 
Nichols-Shattuck  house,  123 
North  American  Review,  quoted, 

224,  225 
North  Bridge,  17,  48,  51,  57,  63 
North  Church,  Salem,  48 
North  River,  Plymouth  County, 

North  River,  Salem,  78 
"  Notes",  Hawthorne,  11,  14 
Noyes  (Mrs.  L.  E.)  house,  241 
Noyes,  Rev.  Nicholas,  61 


Now  and  Then  Association,  218 
Nurse,  Francis,  20 
Nurse,  Rebecca,  19,  20 


O 


"Oak  Hill",  150 

Oblong  three-story  houses,  62, 
72,  73,  87;  the  William  G. 
Rantoul  house,  68;  at  18 
Ch«tnut  Street,  81 ;  the  Mall 
Street  house,  83 ;  the  Gard- 
ner-White-Pingree  house,  88 

"Old  Bakery",  15 

Old  North  Church,  Boston,  27 

"Old  Salem  ",  36 

Oliver,  General  Henry  Kemble, 
76,  23 1 

Oliver  Primary  School,  230 

Openings,  round-headed,  165; 
elliptical-headed,  165 

"Orchard  Farm  ",  20 

Orders,  free  use  made  of,  119 

Orne,  Timothy,  67,  68 

Orne  (Timothy)  house,  67 

Orthodox  Congregational  Society, 
225 

Osburn,  Alexander,  5 

Osburn,  Sarah  Prince,  5,  6 

Osburn  (Sarah  Prince)  house, 
doorway  of,  107 

Osgood  (Nathan  C.)  house,  137 

Outbuildings,  5,  80 

Overhang,  21 ;  on  the  Prince 
farmhouse,  5 ;  on  the  Becket 
cottage,  6,  9;  in  England,  7; 
on  "The  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables",  16;  on  the  "Old 
Bakery",  23;  on  the  "Witch 
house",  38;  gambrel  gable 
overhang  on  the  Diman  house, 
42;  the  primitive  cornice,  42 

Overmantel,  188,  189,  191 ;  of 
the  Pitman  house,  153;  of 
the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols, 
209,  210 

[275] 


Index 


Palings  and  posts,  67,  68 

Palladian  windows,  of  the  George 
M.  Whipple  house,  (^\  in 
the  fafade,  91-93 ;  of  the 
Pickman-Shreve-Little  house 
and  the  Dodge-Shreve  house, 
92,  93 ;  of  the  Loring-Em- 
merton  house,  94;  of  the 
Whipple  house,  116;  of  porch 
of  the  Pickman-Shreve-Little 
house,  125;  of  the  Dodge- 
Shreve  entrance,  126;  of  the 
Lindall-Gibbs-Osgood  house 
and  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  house,  141,  142,  176, 
180;  of  "The  Lindens",  176; 
of  Hamilton  Hall,  223  ;  of  the 
Market  House,  228;  of  the 
Custom  House,  235;  of  the 
T.  Irving  Fenno  house,  242; 
of  the  B.  Parker  Babbidge 
house,  248;  of  the  Peabody 
Building,  252 

Paneling,  in  the  Narbonne  house, 
25 ;  of  the  Forrester  house 
door,  63 ;  of  the  Richard 
Derby  house  door,  63 ;  of 
the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
house  doors,  80,  150,  151; 
square,  flat,  and  sunken,  106; 
beveled  sunken,  106;  molded 
and  raised,  107;  molded  and 
flat,  107;  six-panel  doors, 
107;  four-panel  doors,  107; 
of  the  Lind  all- Barnard-An- 
drews doorway,  1 10 ;  of  "The 
Lindens",  145,  146;  in  the 
Elias  Hasket  Derby  mansion, 
161 ;  in  the  Cabot-Endicott- 
Low  house,  177;  in  hall  of 
the  Babbidge-Crowninshield- 
Bowker  house,  178;  bas-relief, 
197 

Panes,    square,    106;      diamond. 


131;     size   of,    132;   number 
of,  132,  133 
Parkman,  Deliverance,  39 
Parkman  (Deliverance)  house,  il 
Peabody,  Francis,  57,  89 
Peabody,  Colonel  Francis,  215 
Peabody,  George,  London  banker, 

89,  216 
Peabody,    Colonel   George,    mer- 
chant, 98,  217 
Peabody,  Captain  Joseph,  1 1,  71, 

191,  215 
Peabody,  Joseph  Augustus,  215 
Peabody,  Dr.  Nathaniel,  82,  84 
Peabody,  Sophia  Amelia,  84 
Peabody,  S.  Endicott,  89 
Peabody  and  Stearns,  251 
Peabody  Building,  252,  253 
Peabody-Silsbee    house,    89,    90; 
porch  of,  122,  123,  140;  man- 
tel of,  197,  198 
Peabody,  Mass.,  89;     houses,  27 
Peabody  Museum,  62 
Peaked-roof  houses,  1-17,  37,  41 
Pediment,     segmental,     54,     56; 

triangular,  54 
Pedimental    porches    and    door- 
ways, 45,  47,  so,  109-113,  116 
Peele,  Willard,  91 
Penthouse  roof,  6 
Perpendicular  Gothic,  3 
" Peter  Goldthwaite's  Treasure", 

Hawthorne,  11 
Phillips,  Stephen  C,  9 
Phillips,  Stephen  W.,  244 
Phillips  (Stephen  W.)  house,  137 
Pickering,  Henry,  98 
Pickering,  John,  16,  98 
Pickering,  John,  son  of  Timothy, 

17,  223,  225,  229 
Pickering,  Colonel  Timothy,   17, 

223 
Pickering      (Colonel      Timothy) 

house,  II,  16 
Pickering-Mack  house,  127 
Pickets,  71 


[276] 


Indi 


ex 


Pickman,  Benjamin,  44 

Pickman,  Benjamin,  Jr.,  61 

Pickman  (Benjamin)  house,  54, 
57>  177  >  mantel  of,  200,  201 

Pickman-Derby-Brookhouse  man- 
sion, 61,  179 

Pickman-Shreve-Little  house,  86, 
92,  93 ;  doorway  of,  125 ; 
lintel  of,  140 

Pierce,  Betsey,  79 

Pierce,  Jerathmel,  66,  78 

Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols  house, 
finest  wooden  house  in  New 
England,  66,  78;  decked 
roof  of,  68 ;  designed  by 
Mclntire,  78;  gradual  de- 
velopment of,  78 ;  garden 
of,  78,  79;  sold  to  George 
Johonnot  in  1827,  79;  pur- 
chased by  the  Essex  Institute 
for  preservation  in  1917,  79; 
more  pleasing  than  most 
square  Salem  houses,  79; 
decked  roof  and  corner  pilaster 
treatments  its  particular  dis- 
tinction, 80;  porches,  door- 
ways, and  fences  of,  80;  out- 
buildings and  brick  paved 
court,  80 ;  woodwork,  mantels, 
and  chimney  pieces  of,  81; 
porches  of,  114,  115,  117; 
windows  of,  140,  141;  sur- 
base  in,  147,  148;  fireplace 
wall  in,  150,  151,  153;  doors 
and  embrasured  windows  of, 
151,  152;  the  east  parlor  of, 
155-158;  stairway  of,  168, 
174,179,180;  Palladian  win- 
dow of,  1 76 ;  interior  of  front 
door  of,  180,  181 ;  mantel  of, 
188,  189;  chimney-piece  of, 
193,  194,  208-210 

Pilaster  treatments,  50,  80,  156 

Pilasters,  53,  110,  114,  116,  117; 
paneled,  162,  192,  204,  209; 
reeded,  198,  199,  209 


Pineapple  doorway,  iii,  112 

Pitman  house,  152 

Planters,  i 

Plaster,    on    oak    laths,    2;      on 

walls,  7,  23 
Plaster  coving,  20 
Plummer,  Caroline,  253 
Plummer,     Ernestus     Augustus, 

253 

Plummer  Hall,  253 

Police  Station,  Salem,  254,  255 

Pope,  Nathaniel,  28 

Porches,  inclosed,  of  the  Becket 
cottage,  9;  of  the  Rea-Put- 
n am- Fowler  house,  18;  of  the 
Holten  house,  29;  of  the 
Dr.  Henry  Wheatland  house, 
30 ;  of  Hawthorne's  Dearborn 
Street  house,  45 ;  of  the 
General  Israel  Putnam  house, 
46 ;  of  the  Derby-Ward  house, 
50;  of  the  Benjamin  Pick- 
man  house,  57;  of  the  Stearns 
house,  63 ;  of  the  Forrester 
house,  63 ;  of  the  Hosmer- 
Townsend-Waters  house,  64; 
of  the  Boardman  house,  64; 
of  the  Captain  Edward  Allen 
house,  65 ;  of  the  George  M. 
Whipple  house,  66;  of  the 
William  G.  Rantoul  house,  68 ; 
of  the  Crowninshield-Deve- 
reux-Waters  house,  70;  ellip- 
tical, 70;  of  the  Cook-Oliver 
house,  76,  77;  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  80; 
of  the  Grimshawe  house,  83, 
84;  Doric,  of  the  Gardner- 
White-Pingree  house,  90;  of 
the  house  12  Chestnut  Street, 
91 ;  Corinthian,  of  the  Pick- 
man-Shreve-Little house  and 
the  Dodge-Shreve  house,  92, 
93 ;  best  hand-carved  Corin- 
thian, in  America,  93 ;  of  the 
Loring-Emmerton   house,  94; 


[277] 


Index 


of  the  Andrew-SafFord  house, 
96;  of  the  Hoffman-Simpson 
house,  100;  with  seats,  109; 
gable-roof  inclosed,  109,  113, 
114;  Doric,  on  house  at 
23  Summer  Street,  114;  of 
the  Boardman  house  and 
the  Pierce-Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  114,  115,  117;  of 
Whipple  house,  115,  116;  of 
Stearns  house,  117;  of  the 
Cook-Oliver  house,  119;  of 
the  Kimball  house,  122;  of 
the  Peabody-Silsbee  house, 
122,  123;  other  similar,  123; 
of  the  Gardner  and  Thompson 
houses,  124;  of  the  Salem 
Club,  124;  of  the  Baldwin- 
Lyman  house,  125;  of  the 
Barstow-West  house,  126;  el- 
liptical, 127;  of  the  Tucker- 
Rice  house  and  the  Gardner- 
White-Pingree  house,  127,  128, 
211;  of  the  Andrew-Safford 
house,  128;  of  the  Assembly 
Hall,  219 

Portico,  95 ;  used  as  veranda, 
213 

Post  Office,  Salem,  251 

Pownall,  Governor,  58 

Poynton  (Thomas)  house,  in, 
112 

Prescott,  William  Hickling,  10, 
191 

Prince,  Dr.  Jonathan,  29 

Prince,  Robert,  5,  6 

Prince  (Robert)  farmhouse,  3,  5 

Prince,  Sarah,  5,  6 

Privateers,  6 

Public  buildings,  English,  2;  of 
Salem,  211-235 

Putnam,  Anne,  133 

Putnam  (Anne)  house,  133 

Putnam,  Benjamin,  20 

Putnam,  Captain  Edmund,  19 

Putnam,  Eleanor,  36 


Putnam,  Elias,  19 

Putnam,  General  Israel,  28,  45, 

46 
Putnam    (General    Israel)    birth- 
place, doorway  of,  116 
Putnam  (Jesse)  house,  30,  134 
Putnam,  John,  20,  28,  45 
Putnam,  Joseph,  28,  45,  46 
Putnam,  Deacon  Joseph,  30 
Putnam,  Lieutenant  Thomas,  45 
Putnam-Hanson  house,  152 
Puttenham  family,  45 

Q 

QUOINED  CORNER  BOARDS,  53,  55, 
60,  63,  67 


Rafters,  42 

Rantoul,    William    G.,    68,    244, 

254 
Rantoul  (William  G.)  house,  68, 

69,  141 
Rea,  Bethia,  19 
Rea,  Daniel,  19 
Rea-Putnam- Fowler    house,     18, 

26,  134 
Read,  Nathan,  10,  191 
Read  (Nathan)  house,  11,  191 
Recovery,  the,  6 
Redemptioners,  5 
Reed,  spiral,  160 
Reeded  ovolo,  157 
Reedings,  160 
Renaissance  in  England,  2 
Returns  on  gable  ends,  50 
Revere,  Paul,  17,  51 
Revolution,  American,  19,  46,  59, 

62,  67,  79 
Richardson,  A.  G.,  238,  248 
Robinson,  John,  62,  88,  104 
Rogers,  John,  61 

Rogers,  Mrs.  J.  C,  150  ^ 

Rogers,  Richard  S.,  150 


[278] 


Index 


Roman  classics,  74 

Roofs,  gable  and  peaked,  1-17; 
steep  pitched  for  thatch,  4,  6, 
7,  16,  21,  24;  less  steeply 
pitched,  18;  single-pitched, 
18;  mansard,  34-36; 

"French  curb"  and  "French 
hip",  35 ;  decked,  49,  60, 
61,  67-69,  77,  80,  89,  90; 
hip,  60,  61 ;  segmental,  52. 
See  Balustraded 

Ropes,  Eliza  Orne,  49 

Ropes,  Mary  Pickman,  49 

Ropes,  Nathaniel,  48 

Ropes  Memorial,  37,  48,  120,  121 

Rubble  masonry,  2 

Ruck,  Thomas,  43 

Ruck  (Thomas)  house,  42,  43 

Rumford  ovens,  58 

Run,  stairway,  169 

Running  bond,  86 

Rusticated  boarding,  53,  55,  59, 
61,  67 


St.  John's  Normal  College,  6 
Salem,  Mass.,  first  houses  of,  i,  3 ; 
beginnings  of  its  architectural 
history,  2;  many-gabled 
houses  in,  3,  12;  thatch  roofs 
in,  4,  5;  merchant  marine 
of,  6;  overhang  character- 
istics of  seventeenth-century 
dwellings,  6;  brickwork  in 
architecture  of,  first  brick 
house,  21 ;  Colonial  and  Pro- 
vincial periods  in,  34;  three- 
story  square  houses  excel  in, 
59;  widely  known  for  its 
Colonial  residences  and  build- 
ings, 73  ;  the  architecture  of, 
between  1818  and  191 8,  99- 
104 ;  the  welcoming  doorways 
of,  118;  excellence  of  work 
of  wood-carvers  of,  144;     in- 


stitutions of,  housed  in  old 
dwellings,  211-235;  fire  of 
1914  at,  236;  recent  buildings 
of,  Colonial  in  design  and  mo- 
tives, 237,  238,  250 

Salem  Athenaeum,  253,  254 

Salem  Cadet  Armory,  215-217 

Salem  Club,  217;  entrance  of, 
124;  detail  of  a  private 
dining  room  in,  155;  hall  of, 
181-183 

Salem  Public  Library,  218 

"Salem  Witchcraft",  Upham,  103 

Saltonstall,  Leverett,  124 

Saltonstall-Tuckerman  house,  124 

Sand  as  a  floor  covering,  26 

Sanders  (Charles)  house,  140 

Sashes,  42 ;  diamond-shaped,  9, 
22,  131;  square-paned,  106; 
sliding,  131,  132;  many- 
paned,  132,  133 ;  twelve- 
paned,  133;  eight-paned,  133  ; 
nine-paned,  134;  six-paned, 
I34>  13s;  single  and  ■  two- 
piece,  140;  three-pane  and 
six-pane,  140;  double  six- 
pane,  141 ;  double  eight-pane, 
141 ;  double  three-pane,  141 ; 
solid,  141 ;  nine-paned  solid, 
141 ;  fifteen-paned,  242 

"Scarlet  Letter",  Hawthorne,  82, 
83.  233.  234 

Screw  bead,  191,  201 

Screw  reeds,  201 

Seaman  (Francis  A.)  house,  246, 
247 

Seaman's  "Bethel",  15 

Seaman's  Orphan  and  Children's 
Friend  Society,  218 

Second  Church,  Salem,  31,  42, 
224 

Semi-detached  houses,  merits  of, 
243,  244;  example  of  houses 
resembling,  244-246 

Shannon,  the,  70,  225 

Sheffield  patent,  I 


[279] 


Index 


Sherman,    General    William    T., 

55 

Shingles,  on  steep-pitched  roof, 
perpetuating  the  thatch  tra- 
dition, 4,  7;  as  a  roof  cover- 
ing, 7 

Ship's  lamp,  240 

Ships,  merchant,  6 

Shutters,  25,  158,  159 

Sidelights,  107,  108;  of  the  house 
26  Dearborn  Street,  45;  of 
the  Derby-Ward  house,  50;  of 
the  Arthur  W.  West  house, 
91 ;  of  the  Dodge-Shreve  and 
the  Pickman  -  Shreve  -  Little 
house,  93 ;  of  the  Hoffman- 
Simpson  house,  100;  of  the 
Whipple  house,  115 

"Sign  of  the  Globe"  tavern,  10 

Silsbee,  Nathaniel,  20,  102 

Silsbee  (Nathaniel)  house,  20 

Silsbee-Mott  house,  96,  97 

Simpson,  Dr.  James  E.,  100 

Skirting,  168 

South  Church,  Salem,  224-226 

South  Salem,  66 

Spheres,  band  of,  201 

Sprague,  Colonel  Joseph,  63 

Square  three-story  brick  houses, 
examples,  85-104 

Square  three-story  wood  houses, 
examples,  59-84 

Stable  doors,  67 

Stables,  61,  80,  90,  91 

Stackpole,  Charles  R.,  27 

Stage  Point,  66 

Stair  ends,  57,  180 

Stair  rails,  128,  169,  174 

Stairways  of  "  The  House  of  the 
Seven  Gables",  13 ;  of  the 
John  Ward  house,  22;  of 
"The  Lindens",  56,  175; 
in  form  of  broken  flights,  168, 
169;  of  the  Captain  Edward 
Allen  house,  170;  "winders", 
170-172;     direction   of  flight 


reversed,  173;  of  the  Cook- 
Oliver  house,  173 ;  of  the 
Derby-  Crowninshield  -  Rogers 
house,  173  ;  of  the  Daniel  P. 
Waters  house,  173;  of  the 
Cabot-Endicott-Low  house, 
176-178;  back,  at  "The  Lin- 
dens", 178;  of  the  Babbidge- 
Crowninshield-Bowker  house, 
178;  of  the  Pickman-Derby- 
Brookhouse  mansion,  179; 
transition,  style,  and  later 
development  of  the  Colonial, 
179;  of  the  Pierce- Johonnot- 
Nichols  house,  179,  180 

Stearns  house,  62,  63 ;  porch  of, 
117 

Stone,  Deacon  John,  88,  103 

Stone,  quarried,  2 ;  as  a  building 
material  in  New  England,  53 

String  course  of  cornice,  156 

Strings,  qlose  and  cut,  168 

"Studio,  The",  103,  104 

Summer  beams,  22,23,  25,  45,  151 

Sun  porch,  81 

Sun  Tavern,  16 

Surbase,  surmounting  die,  147; 
a  horizontal  molding  or  group 
of  moldings,  147;  resembling 
upper  fascia,  147;  in  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  147, 
148;  in  Derby-Crowninshield- 
Rogers  house,  148;  festoon 
scheme  of,  148 


Tabernacle  Church,  225 
Thatch  roofs,  4,  5,  18 
Thayer,  John,  88 
Thayer,  Captain  Oliver,  225 
Thompson,      Benjamin      (Cou 

Rumford),  58 
Thompson,  Rev.  James  W.,  104 
Thompson     (Rev.     James     W.) 

house,  139 


[280] 


Indi 


ex 


Thornton,  William,  75 
Three-story  houses.     See  Square 
Thumb  latches,  25,  32,  105,  108, 

117,  240 
Tiles,    as    a    roof    covering,    5; 

Flemish,  192 
Tip  table,  177 
Tontine  Block,  79,  244;     houses 

erected  on  site  of,  244-246 
Top-lights,  32,  107,  108 
Town  Hall,  Salem,  228 
Transoms,  91,  97,  107,  165 
Transverse  or  tie  courses,  86 
Tucker-Rice     house,     porch     of, 

127,  211;     purchased  by  the 

Father  Mathew  Catholic  Total 

Abstinence  Society,  211 
Tudor  characteristics,  3,  20 
Turner,  Ross,  128 
Tuscan  order,  70 
"Twice  Told  Tales",  Hawthorne, 

12 

U 

Upham,  Rev.  Charles  W.,  103 
Upham,  William  P.,  88 
Urns,  80,  no,  117,  226 


Verandas,  69,  124 

Verge   boards,    32,    54;     double, 

the    forerunner    of   moldings, 

SO 
Victoria  regia,  the,  lOi 
Victorian  decadence,   17,  35,  81, 

99 

W 

Wainscots,  paneled,  150,  169 
Waite  (Aaron)  house,  66 
Walcott,  John,  28 
Walcott  (John)  house,  27 
Wall  papers,  advent  of,  8,   146; 


in  the  General  Israel  Putnam 
house,  45;  of  the  Putnam- 
Hanson  house,  152;  of  the 
Pitman  house,  153;  of  the 
Cook-Oliver  house,  155,  207; 
of  the  Elias  Hasket  Derby 
mansion,  161;  of  "The  Lin- 
dens", 17s,  176 

Ward,  John,  21 

Ward  (John)  house,  21-24,   133, 

134 

Ward,  Miles,  51 

Washington,  George,  46,  64,  218, 
221 

"Washington  (George)  and  His 
Ancestry,  An  Examination 
into",  Fitz-Gilbert,  64 

Washington  Hall,  222 

Water  table,  53 

Waters,  Abigail,  71 

Waters  (David  P.)  house,  stair- 
way of,  171,  173;  mantel  of, 
204,  205 

Waters,  Henry  Fitz-Gilbert,  64 

Waters  (John)  house,  30 

Waters,  Captain  Joseph,  213 

Waters,  Judge  Joseph  G.,  213 

Waters,  Richard,  26 

Waters,    William    Crowninshield, 

71 
Waters,  Captain  William   Dean, 

71 
Webb,  Dr.  William,  23 
Weir  house,  112 
West,  Arthur  W.,  90 
West  (Benjamin)  house,  58 
West,  Nathaniel,  71,  104 
Wheatland,  Dr.  Henry,  30,  35 
Wheatland    (Dr.    Henry)    house, 

30»  35 
Wheatland,  Mrs.  Richard,  104 
Whipple  (George  M.)   house,  66; 

porch,  115,  116 
White-Lord    house,  doorway  of, 

113 ;  windows,  135 
White  pine,  143 


[281] 


Indt 


ex 


Whitewashing  plastered  walls,  8 

"Winders",  170-172 

Window  beads,  52,  68,  77,   136, 

137 

Window  casings,  80;  early,  135, 
136;  molded  after  manner 
of  architrave,  136;  with  beads 
above  architrave,  136 

Window  frames,  52,  68,  77; 
limitations  imposed  by  brick- 
work on,  138 

Windows,  many-paned,  15,  25, 
29,  32,  42,  50;  oval,  18,  so; 
of  the  Bishop-Nurse  house, 
19;  foreshortened,  21,  62, 
65,69;  peaked,  22;  dormer, 
22,  30,  44,  47,  54-56;  case- 
ment, 22 ;  of  the  George 
Jacobs  house,  26;  of  the 
Clark  house,  28 ;  of  the  house 
at  8  Hardy  Street,  42;  oval- 
topped,  55;  of  the  Rantoul 
house,  69;  of  the  Cook- 
Oliver  house,  77;  of  the 
Mansfield-Bolles  house,  87; 
of  the  Peabody-Silsbee  and 
the  Gardner-White-Pingree 
houses,  90;  of  the  Baldwin- 
Lyman  house,  91 ;  of  the 
Dodge-Shreve  entrance,  126; 
eighteen-paned,  134;  fifteen- 
paned,  134;  sixteen-paned, 
134;  twelve-paned,  135;  four- 
paned,  135;  three-sash,  139; 
of  the  Pierce- Johonnot-Nichols 
house,  140,  156,  158;  em- 
brasured, 150-152,  156; 
of  "The  Lindens",  176;  of 
the  Bertram  Home  for  Aged 
Men,  213;  of  the  Salem  Cadet 
Armory,    216,    217;      of   the 


Market  House,  228;  of  the 
old  High  School,  231;  of 
the  Morrill  house,  240,  241 ; 
thirty-paned,  of  the  T.  Irving 
Fenno  house,  242;  of  the 
Post  Office  building,  251; 
of  the  Peabody  Building,  253  ; 
of  the  Masonic  Temple,  256. 
See  Palladian,  Sashes 

Wings,  4,  62 ;  of  the  Crownin- 
shield  -  Devereux  -  Waters 
house,  70,  72;  of  the  Pierce- 
Johonnot-Nichols  house,  80; 
of  the  house  at  18  Chestnut 
Street,  81;  of  the  Mall  Street 
house,  83  ;  of  the  Mansfield- 
Bolles  house,  87;  of  the  house 
at  23   Summer  Street,   114 

Winthrop,  Governor  John,  10 

Winthrop,  Lucy,  10 

"  Witch  house",  37,  133 

Witchcraft  delusion,  6,  19,  27, 
28,  34,  61 

Witchcraft  photographs,  88 

Woman's  Friend  Society,  mantel 
of,  200,  201,  202,  212 

Wood  as  a  building  material,  2 

"Wood-Carver  of  Salem,  The", 
Cousins  and  Riley,  72 

Wood-carvers,  ablest  work  of, 
in  three-story  square  Salem 
houses,  59;  of  Salem,  ex- 
cellence of  their  work,  144 

Wood  finish.     See  Interior 

Wood  trim,  32,  75 


"Yesterdays   with  Authors' 

Fields,  83 
Yorktown,  battle  of,  59 


[282] 


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